Learning to Embrace Jesus in Kenya
Photos by Josh Larson
During a 2012 short-term mission trip to Kenya, Africa, Randy and Kari Saul walked up a hill where Randy reflected, “I feel a calling to raise up some place where people can learn God’s Word so that they can embrace it and know Jesus.” Randy had already made several trips to Kebabe, Kenya.
Members of a team from Calvary Chapel Crystal River, FL, and CC Kebabe, Kenya, Pastoral Assistant John Kinyua (right), sing Christian songs to kids at an elementary school. The team was supporting the Abide In Truth ministry, which originated out of Calvary Chapel Palm Harbor, FL.
Kari hadn’t visited as often, but she felt that God had spoken to her as well that they would move there. Yet she hadn’t mentioned a word to anybody, just in case God changed His mind. For Kari loved her role as women’s ministry leader at Calvary Chapel Palm Harbor, FL, and was looking forward to spending more time with her kids and grandkids. But as she prayed on the hill, she sensed the Lord gently ask her: “Is eternity long enough for that?” Now, standing close to her husband, she surrendered her current life to their shared calling with tears and replied, “I already know.”
Missionary Randy Saul (right) speaks with Charles Muya after a church service. Randy and his wife Kari have been missionaries to Kenya for over 10 years, teaching inductive Bible studies through their Abide In Truth ministry. They have also started U-Turn for Christ West Kenya and Calvary Chapel Kebabe.
Several years later, after establishing a church in the farming village, their friend Nick, who attended their fellowship, walked up that same hill with Randy and shared that he had just purchased the property—and was giving it to the church. “Such crazy confirmation!” Kari would joyfully recall. Their ministry would move from a single discipleship program to a growing church, an educational outreach, and a U-Turn for Christ program.
Missionary Kari Saul (left) fellowships with Eric (center) and Peris Nyamboki after a church service. Eric, a U-Turn for Christ graduate from Uganda, had ministered to Peris years before, ultimately leading to her salvation through Jesus Christ.
A Changing Ministry
Abide In Truth began as an Inductive Bible Study (IBS) discipleship program that has expanded since it was founded 10 years ago. “We were not focused on the village when we went there,” Kari admitted. “We went out of the village four days a week, traveling as far as three hours away.” They taught 20-week courses using IBS material written by Calvary Chapel Pastor Don Finfrock, also offering an overview of every book of the Bible and chronological Bible storytelling. “By nature and heritage, Africans are storytellers,” Kari noted.
Krystal Foster (center) from Calvary Chapel Crystal River joins pastoral assistants John Kinyua (left) and Noah Adamba in teaching Sunday school.
Four years later, they shifted gears. Randy and his future son-in-law, Denis Wafula, spent two years with 12 men from the hundreds who had gone through their previous classes, men who had clearly embraced the teachings. “We continued with them, brought them into the village once a week; some traveled three hours one way from all over western Kenya for a day of discipleship,” Kari explained. Pastors from CC Palm Harbor and CC Crystal River, FL, taught the classes over the internet.
CC Crystal River Assistant Pastor Cory Saul (left) greets Charles, an alumnus of U-Turn for Christ West Kenya.
Randy acknowledged that African culture presents challenges. “Culture is a beautiful thing. It’s really cool to see the way they do some things and their cultural backgrounds. But when the culture conflicts with the Word, the Word must come first.”
COVID-19 restrictions slowed down the second phase of the Discipleship Training Center, but the ministry is preparing for the third phase, set to begin in 2023.
Shallow Faith & Substance Abuse
When Randy first came to Kebabe in 2010, he found a quiet but spiritually dark village. Although there are other churches, Kebabe is in an area steeped in witchcraft and cultural animism. “God’s Word was not being taught as it needed to be,” Randy explained. Kari added, “Kenya is [considered] a Christian nation, but if you’re not Muslim, you’re Christian. The depth of faith is shallow.”
“I [Jesus] am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Schoolchildren in the village of Kebabe listen intently as young men from CC Kebabe and a team from CC Crystal River share about Jesus.
Without running water, women and children walk to the river to get it. Although many live in blockhouses, some still live in mud huts. Yet, Kari emphasized, “The people are beautiful.”
Tragically, the village is plagued by drug and alcohol abuse, especially of a local moonshine known as changaa. Kari related, “An ounce of changaa is very cheap, and a user can sweep the floor of a changaa den to get a small amount. It’s bad stuff—it will knock out somebody who’s been drinking for 40 years.”
From Eggs to Church
CC Kebabe grew out of the Kebabe Egg Project (KEP), an effort to provide work and training opportunities for the village’s men. Starting with 200 hens in wooden cages, its flock has grown to 5,500 hens. Workshops have been added: a metalworking/welding shop, wood shop, construction crew, and a shamba (farm).
Elijah Ondieki clears a construction site for a new building that will house a school of ministry, led by Randy Saul.
Bible study was featured at KEP, attended by some villagers who were often drunk. “Randy’s heart got really burdened for them. We were advised to keep them busy,” Kari said. “We began sending guys to the U-Turn for Christ in Nairobi, Kenya, and they came back changed—really, unbelievably changed! They were on fire for the Lord, and that made an impact on the village.” KEP offered, and continues to offer, opportunities to learn a trade for the men who graduate from U-Turn.
The church was established in 2014. For two years, services were held in the Sauls’ garage, attendees sitting on handmade benches. It eventually moved to the KEP workshops and later to the donated land. Today, about 75 adults attend the fellowship. Randy pastored the church until 2016, when he handed it over to Pastor Denis Wafula. Kasi (Randy and Kari’s daughter) and Denis were married in 2018 and have two small children.
Pastor Denis Wafula delivers a message remotely during the Goat Roast conference. Denis is the senior pastor of CC Kebabe and is married to Kasi, Randy and Kari’s daughter. Denis and Kasi were in Florida at the time and unable to attend the event due to ongoing efforts to get his U.S. green card.
New U-Turn for Christ
CC Kebabe started its own U-Turn in 2017 at the urging of Moses, the first local man sent to Nairobi’s U-Turn. Moses said to them, “God has done so much for me—I’d like to give this side of my land to build one.” The dining room, kitchen, and bunkhouse were built by local men, who then became the first to go through the Kebabe U-Turn program. The eight-month program, which features work, Bible study, and community outreach can accommodate 28 men.
Randy elaborated, “We get a lot of street boys from different areas. We can’t imagine how they lived, not knowing if they were going to be beaten up or killed—we see them come into our program and feel safe for the first time.” They come from different cultures and tribes throughout Kenya and neighboring Uganda. “It’s really cool to see these guys come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior; the majority leave [as] changed people,” he added.
Kelly, a U-Turn for Christ attendee, is baptized by U-Turn overseer Moses Nyabaga (left) and Raymond Perez of CC Crystal River.
A Goat Roast & Reunion
In October 2022, U-Turn held its “Goat Roast,” a three-day conference reuniting men who have been through the program. “It’s so affirming to see these guys come back and know that they’re still maintaining their sobriety, not falling back,” Randy declared. “It’s also a time for them to encourage the guys who are going through [the program] now.” A team of nine from CC Crystal River assisted with the goat roast as part of their two-week mission trip.
Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:10-11
Raymond Perez (right) serves lunch as dozens of men enjoy fellowship after the Goat Roast conference.
One attending graduate, Eric, now distributes audio Bibles in Uganda. As he shared with Kari a video he uses in ministry, she called over a woman, Peris, who attends the church. Kari recounted, “She’s kind of looking at the screen, and she keeps looking at Eric. As soon as she’s done looking at it, she asks in Swahili, ‘Do you remember me?’” During COVID-19, Abide In Truth received money from Far Reaching Ministries to provide food bags for area communities. Eric had led a team to an adjacent village and a changaa den that Peris ran.
Kari described, “He left a bag of food, shared the Gospel, invited them to church, and prayed with them before leaving.” Peris came to church shortly after that; Pastor Denis again shared the Gospel with her, and she prayed to receive Christ.
Kari continued, “It clicked with Peris that Eric was the one who had invited her to church, and they had an amazing conversation. He got tears in his eyes from the excitement that the Lord had given him an opportunity to [meet again] and for her to testify to him: ‘This is what God did through you.’”
Johnny Garcia (left), overseer at U-Turn for Christ Florida, greets men and boys after an evening Bible study in Kebabe.
Reaching Youth & Women
Every weekday at CC Kebabe, staff members are available to tutor students. The church also provides numerous scholarships to help village children pay for school expenses. Once a week, staff members Noah and John are invited into local schools to share God’s Word, to show that the Bible isn’t just a textbook. “All these kids know about Jesus, but our heart is that they would know Him,” Kari emphasized.
John Kinyua teaches a Bible story to schoolchildren in the village of Kebabe.
Kari leads a women’s group that has reached out to build relationships with village women through a family tree project. “They have been going into homes, getting family information from many people. As they’re getting ready to leave, they’ll ask, ‘How can we be praying for you?’”
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we don’t lose heart. Galatians 6:9
Krystal Foster (right) from CC Crystal River gives a warm farewell to local villager and church member Susan Nyangweso, who became a friend during the mission trip.
Randy exclaimed, “I feel honored to be able to do this. Many times, I just observe the things that are going on, amazed to see how God has moved in this village.”
Kari said she also loves “being able to watch God work right in front of my eyes, watching Him open eyes of understanding, pouring out wisdom and knowledge. God is changing lives.” She noted that life may get harder in days to come. “We cannot forget that He is still on the throne and accomplishing His purpose. No matter where we are or what He’s called us to, we need to be diligent and not grow weary. There’s one way to not grow weary—to abide in Christ, in the truth. That’s the heart of our ministry.”
Young children from CC Kebabe worship the Lord during a Sunday service.
To learn more about Abide In Truth visit abideintruth.org
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