Audio Bible for the People of Kenya
Read below about the many exciting things happening in Kenya through Faith Comes By Hearing.
The Light of God's Word
Every Church Every Village is a program that provides free Audio Bible Proclaimers® to mission teams headed to the field. The following excerpts are from a minister's report:
"Mornings here in Kenya have a startling clarity to them. It's as if the sunshine cuts through the air with a sharp focus; the air even smells crisp.
"My day started off with another excursion into the bush. Our destination: a small city in the middle of a semi-arid area. Within a mile of town, the landscape turns dusty, dry, and barren except for the thorny acacia trees that cover the area just like mesquite trees in Texas.
"There are few roads, if any, in this place. The dirt tracks are more for cattle and goats than wheeled vehicles. I know people live out here somewhere, but there are few signs other than an occasional group of cattle with a lone Maasai herdsman standing silently on the side watching us pass.
"It should be no surprise that the population is so sparse. The drought that has taken over this land has devastated it. No rain for over six months has turned the soil to dust, and the grass to wither. The cattle, which are the mainstay of life for these Maasai, are dying from lack of water. Even the sturdy acacia trees have shed their leaves, adding to the barrenness.
"We arrive suddenly at the church. Again, we are out in the middle of nowhere, and I have no idea how a church got built way out here. Where do all the people live? How do they know to come here for church; never mind how they even know how to get here without getting lost?
"To answer my questions, the pastor takes me down the road to a traditional Maasai home. After walking about half a mile, we come to a wall of thorny branches piled four feet high in a huge circle, surrounding a handful of mud huts. I am told that even lions will not get through these barriers. The thorns are three inches long and, trust me, they are sharp!
"I am invited to crawl into a hut. As I squeeze in, I see that it is like a compressed hallway that twists and turns into the room. It is a little claustrophobic for me. The room is shadowy dark with a small campfire burning in the center. I stumble into the gloom and find a ledge to sit on. A little toothless woman sits in the middle of a five-foot diameter room, tending the fire. She smiles. The ledge I am sitting on is her bed. The man's ledge is on the other side.
"I feel like I am in the home of a Hobbit—but one that lurks in darkness. It is so dark that it takes time for my eyes to adjust. The "windows" are two three-inch holes. That's it, nothing else. There is no room to stretch or even sit up straight. And I'm not sure what I would bump into if I did, or if the whole place would fall in.
"Back at the church, we find people have been filtering in from the bush, dressed in their brightly colored robes. A small crowd is waiting for us. I wonder what they are expecting. What will the Muzumgo have for them? Am I just a curiosity, or are their hearts hoping for something that will break through the average monotony of life?
"I have brought with me an Audio Bible Proclaimer® and, as my Maasai host shows them how it works, their excitement switches on like a light bulb. You should see the pastor as he excitedly explains how this Proclaimer® can play the Bible in Maasai! And it is not dependent on electricity because it has a solar panel and an auxiliary hand crank! They laugh and applaud as he dances around the room, turning the hand crank to show them.
"This is a very big deal. Few of these people have a formal education or have learned to read, so this is an incredible blessing and a miraculous opening of God's Word. Their only exposure to the Bible up until now was confined to scattered glimpses when someone else shared his or her Bible with them. But here is the Word of God, spoken in their own language, which they can listen to and understand.
"Most Americans do not understand the depth of this situation. It is difficult for us to comprehend the challenges that face these Christians who are immersed in a land of spiritual darkness and witchcraft, and yet forced to stand strong in their faith without a Bible to read.
"One Pastor told me that, of the 45 people in his church, he is the only one who has a Bible, and 30 of those 45 can't read. So how does he feed them the Word of God? Every Sunday, he passes the Bible around so that each member can read a verse, and then pass it on to the next person. That way, he tells me, they all get a chance to "see how good it feels to read the Word of God."
"Can you grasp this? To read a verse just so you can have a chance to see how good the Word of God feels? May God have mercy on us who take our freedom and prosperity for granted. And may God forgive those of us sitting in our comfortable churches who have passed over the desperation of these hungry souls.
"This is where it strikes me how important this is. Imagine believing that Jesus Christ is Lord. You have been saved and have felt the Spirit of God change your life. You know that it is the truth, and that the Bible is God's Word and is vital for your spiritual walk—but you cannot read so you are cut off from the very thing that can give you life.
"It's like groping around in a dark room looking for a door that opens to the outside. And then some stranger arrives and gives you the key that opens the door to Truth, a lamp that sheds the darkness, and the Bread of Life to feed your starving soul. The curtains of that dark room are suddenly ripped open to reveal a huge bay window—and the brightness of God's Word is like sunlight, blasting your soul with the glory of God. It doesn't get much better than this.
"I guarantee you that, if you were to come here just one time, you would never be the same ever again. The feeling is overwhelming. It swells your heart so much that you can hardly speak."
If you are interested in providing free Audio Bibles to Kenya (or any other country), contact us at or 1 (800) 545-6552.
The Power of the Word in the Schools
On the outskirts of Nairobi city lies Korogocho, a slum that is faced with hardships such as a lack of water, security problems, and proper sanitary facilities. But the challenges have not hindered the spread of the Word of God, especially in the informal schools such as New Star Light Academy, which is nicknamed “Saints Academy."
Kenyan school children at New Star Light Academy have been listening to the Audio Bible through Faith Comes By Hearing programs for the last four years. In the beginning there were only a handful of students. Currently, the entire school population is 300!
The group has moved from mud-walled buildings to wooden-structured buildings and are very grateful to God.
In the school is a student by the name of Jared. This boy’s behavior was beyond the school leadership's control. He was known to travel armed with a penknife, and he would threaten to kill when confronted. Though many tried, none were successful at guiding the young man into a new way of life. But, after the introduction of the Faith Comes By Hearing listening program in the school, Jared committed to listening, and the commitment brought a visible transformation. The school has witnessed the transformation and behavioral change, crediting these changes to the Word of God.
One of the teachers testified that now the kids in this school attend churches, unlike before when church was of no interest to them. The impact of the Faith Comes By Hearing program has also extended to parents. The program has enriched the faith and prayers of the pupils. Okuku is one of the pupils whose parents are really blessed through this program: they were jobless. One day the pupils joined their hands together remembering in prayers this family and others undergoing the same difficulty. After three months of prayer, Okuku's family got jobs! There were joyful testimonies not only from Okuku’s family, but from many other parents as well.
Kenya and Tanzania Schools Project
Scripture Union workers and school volunteers in Kenya and Tanzania were trained by the FCBH special projects coordinator. After teaching them about the Faith Comes By Hearing Audio New Testament listening program and training them on using the Proclaimer, 810 school programs are now underway!
The objectives of the project were to start 1,000 listening groups in Kenya and Tanzania, 500 in each school system, with 125,000 listeners in those listening groups. As of February 2008, 540 Kenyan teachers were trained on Faith Comes By Hearing, Proclaimers, and how to teach children Biblical principles; a Kenyan school program was launched in Nairobi last September; 440 listening programs were established in Scripture Union clubs in Kenyan schools; 370 listening programs began in Tanzanian schools; and the final touches were put on 130 Tanzanian school programs.
Some of the wonderful changes occurring as a result of the children listening to God’s Word are that children are paying more attention during the listening sessions and are enjoying hearing the Scriptures; listeners ask questions and gain a better understanding of the Scriptures; attendance is rising in Bible clubs that use the FCBH program; more teachers are showing an interest in Scripture Union activities; and additional groups have been started sharing Proclaimers with churches.
