By David Morefield

As many of you may know, I have been to Kenya a couple of times with my church on mission trips. During my first trip in 2009, I met Pastor Boaz Omugah from Chemelil, Kenya. He is a very special man and I am glad to be able to call Pastor Boaz my friend and brother.

Chemelil is located about 30 minutes outside of Kisumu, Kenya near Lake Victoria. When I first arrived in Chemelil, I was asked to take a look at a little boy named Collins. Collins had gotten his thumb stuck in the sprocket of a bicycle chain a few weeks before we arrived and his thumb and hand were badly infected. This was not something that a little Neosporin and a Band-aid would cure. I gave Collins an injection of Zylocaine and then cleaned his wound with the supplies that I had on hand. We then took Collins to the Kisumu General Hospital where eventually my team was able to get the boy help.

I got to see Collins again while visiting Pastor Boaz in 2010. To this day, Collins and I stay in contact through people like Pastor Boaz and his son Benard. That is entirely another story; what I want to write about is that a church brought Pastor Boaz to the United States this week in order for him to attend a conference with other ministers. During his trip, I was able to meet up with him and I took some video so that he could share what it is that he does in Chemelil, Kenya.

Pastor Boaz has 46 children in the home; most people would call them orphans, but Pastor Boaz and his wife Helen care for these kids as their own. Aside from raising 46 children in his home, Pastor Boaz runs a church, a school and teaches in Kisumu at a Bible college. In addition to those responsibilities, Pastor Boaz stays busy helping his community when issues arise. The local police call on Pastor Boaz to take in troubled teens on a somewhat regular basis. The man is just amazing and has a real heart for the Lord.

Another reason that I wanted to take a moment and write about Pastor Boaz is that he has been asking me for the last eight years to try to get some people who are trained in Agriculture, to volunteer and come to Chemelil to teach him and the people of his community how to become self-sustainable. Pastor Boaz would like to learn modern techniques of farming so that they no longer have to buy food and can feed themselves. Food and clean water are a challenge for his community, especially during the dry season.

Pastor Boaz is also looking for people to come and teach at his school with whatever skill you may be able to bring to his community. When I went back in 2010, I had promised Pastor Boaz that I would teach a computer class when I returned. I was really surprised when they asked me to teach basic networking 101. As Kenya is beginning to make major leaps forward in technology, those who can do even the most basic work can get good jobs (something that is very hard to do when you come from a tiny village).

If you or someone you know would like to go to Chemelil and help Pastor Boaz realize his vision for sustainability, then please either contact him directly via the information in the video or you can contact me and I will pass the message. Lord willing, I will return to Kenya in the future to help with the effort as well.