Transformation in Real Time
I know what it is like to depend on the Lord. Growing up in an alcoholic family in Kenya, I surrendered my life to God during a Christian outreach in my high school. From that moment on, I started praying and fasting for my parents and nine siblings.
After graduating from high school, I worked as a teacher and participated in an evangelistic team. One day, the team ministered in my home village, and both my parents and my brother received Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Doors soon opened for me to further my education in India. On the flight to India, I cried out to God, “Oh, Lord, You have put a poor village boy in your plan. If you keep me safe and make my studies successful, I will serve you for the rest of my life.” Little did I know what that prayer would mean.
“Serve My People”
While studying for a Bachelor of Commerce degree, I led an international students’ fellowship in North India and, with other students, founded a fellowship in Punjab University and planted four other congregations. On an overnight bus while travelling for a preaching mission, the Lord clearly told me, “I have called you to go serve my people.” As much as it is good to hear from the Lord, this word was not at all comforting. My plan was to work full time, make a lot of money, and support others to do the work of ministry. I prayed, “Lord, please give me ten years to work, build a house for my mom and myself and buy a car, then I will serve you full time.”
God was very patient with me. The more I fasted and prayed, the clearer the call unfolded. When the time came to return home to Kenya, I prayed that God would lead me to a church that would use my gifts to extend the kingdom. God did.
In June 1993, I became part of a vibrant youth fellowship in DOVE Nairobi where I met the love of my life, Violet. We married in 1995 and started a cell group in our home. I was appointed an elder and later became an associate pastor under the leadership of Ibrahim and Diane Omondi.
Although I was busy combining ministry with a career in hospital administration, I did not forget God’s call. Neither could I forget my village, Kadawa, where more than 40 percent of the villagers had HIV/AIDS. In 2005, a medical team visited my village. One of the leaders said, “If nothing is done, this village will be wiped out within ten years.”
I knew only a holistic ministry could change that narrative. In 2006, the theme of the DOVE International Leadership Conference I was privileged to attend was “Occupy and Expand.” On the last day of the conference, the Lord instructed me to start a cell group in Kadawa Village where I grew up. Obediently, I started a cell church in my mother’s home. Seven months later, the group had grown to thirty people and they wanted to start a Sunday service.
In December 2007, my wife and I moved to the village to be in full-time ministry. Losing our jobs and moving from our church family was not easy at all. We did not receive monetary support for this move, so we were depending on God and God alone. But this turned out for good. The Lord has truly been Jehovah Jireh, our Provider.
Church Planting Begins!
Since the first church started in 2008, DOVE Restoration Community Church has grown to a network of twelve congregations. The Lord is delivering many from darkness, immorality, drug addiction and witchcraft. HIV/Aids, cholera, and other infections are declining due to changes in behavior. Malaria cases have been reduced through mosquito net distributions and by removing bushes around houses. The latest census shows life expectancy in the village has gone up from 37-40 years to 45-60 years. Over thirty orphans have been able to go through school due to divine partnerships. Destitute widows are being cared for; wetlands that were not producing food are flourishing with crops. My wife and I started Victory Christian School which now has over 600 students and is known for excellence in not only academics but music, drama and sports as well. This transformation of Kadawa would not have happened without the prayer and financial resources of the DOVE family and other divine partnerships.
As we look ahead, we trust the Lord for many more churches to planted, more people to be reached with the gospel and more lives to be transformed – all for His glory.
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About Hesbone and Violet Odindo
Hesbone and Violet are the directors of DOVE Kenya and also serve on the DOVE International Apostolic Council and DOVE Africa Apostolic Council.
