City Temple Cardiff

A few weeks ago four members of the City Temple Church were released to go on a mission trip to Kenya from the 10th to the 23rd of September.

Michelle Warren, who is one of the leaders on the church’s mission board, led a team of three: Colin, Rhian and Kate to Kibera, the largest slum in Africa. 

During their visit the team gave out 500 mosquito nets and performed a puppet show to warn children against malaria and how important it is to use a net. They also viewed the water pipe which was set up in January 2011 using funds from last year’s offering at the City Temple Church.

“The trip was very successful given that all the aims were achieved. The team visited St. Stephens School, which is in the Kibera Slum in Nairobi. They were introduced to children, did a round of 10 classes, gave out stickers and played action songs,” said Michelle Warren.

The team took part in various activities including reaching out to Aids’ victims at a care home, fellowshipping with other missionaries and discovering Kenyan’s cuisine at overseers’ homes right there in Kibera.

According to Michelle Warren, who for 16 years has been the Director of the Charity Light House, which assists helpless children in the slum, Kibera has the highest level of NGOs missionaries going in but very little is done. Therefore, Michelle strongly believes Christians should not wait on the government to reach out to the needy. “We are a very small charity but we are making progress slowly, There is so much need in Africa but you have to go to the neediest of people and in Kenya that was the slums,” she said.

When some wonder why not just go on holiday instead of such a trip? Michelle knows what keeps her motivation alive: “I have so much passion for children. To see a child standing in front of you, who has not have food in the stomach for three days or more, looking dirty and rough with no adult to look after them, no nothing. …When you see little children having to work for 12 hours a day for a slice of bread, they are all street children. This is what breaks my heart.”

Rhian, a 38-year-old Employment Advisor, was on a mission trip for the first time. She admitted that it was an eye-opener for her as she feels her life will never be the same again. She said:   “Certain things which may have bothered me previously like having my nails done don’t matter to me anymore.  It’s superficial and non-essential to growing the Kingdom.  I still cry when I talk about the lad whose socks were full of dust.  I also cried recently in Tesco when I thought about the children in Kibera who cannot go to a supermarket to buy their own food. I would definitely recommend a mission trip to anyone because it helps to grow your faith and it opens your eyes to the things that God sees on a daily basis and allows people to see where the sponsorship goes.”

And so, for those who find it hard to gather the courage to go to a deprived area as a missionary, perhaps it could be a relief to know that there are many ways to discover a personal purpose to life. Despite all the uncomfortable moments Rhian and her team mates encountered overseas, she said: “I intend to return in April next year but I am happy to go wherever the Lord tells me.  Being a missionary is something which is on my heart and after meeting the other missionaries at the guesthouse its definitely something I’d like to pursue – providing it’s what the Lord wants.”

Colin, another City Temple’s member freshly back from Kenya, is a 48-year-old Automated Welder. His heart beats for the things of God ever since he gave his life to Christ just over a year ago. Like most of the mission’s crew, Colin’s reaction from the trip is very emotional as he explains how hard it has been for him to come back to his normal life. He said: “The most moving thing for me is seeing the children for the first time! You really can’t take in that they have really next to nothing. And then to get the chance that I did to go deeper into the slums with Michelle and see the conditions that they are actually living in …it is so sad…and it broke me if I am being honest.”

Colin’s first impression left him with unanswered questions: “People don’t have food to eat; they don’t have toilets and what’s more, no clean drinking water to drink so they just get diseases and simply die! You just can’t take in the poverty and you just say why is this happening?”

When people dread facing the struggle after returning from a mission trip, especially when it involves coming back from a poverty stricken area, support is always provided for at the City Temple Church. Leaders keep a close follow up before and after a trip, often holding debriefing meetings to allow members to openly share about how they are coping with their experience.

Michelle Warren said: “Missions trips are for those who are called by God. And it’s only our relationship with the Lord that helps you when back, as he sees ALL. Missions bring out every emotion you have from fear, anxiety, joy sadness and despair; so team members need support. But missions can also help to see how God is shaping and moulding people for their future and their individual calling. This is what it’s all about: training for reigning with Him, and I enjoy the training involved which is practical when out on a mission field.”

Believing that every Christian should go on at least one mission in their life time, Michelle quoted Psalm 82:3, which reads: “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless, maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

So crying out for more children’ sponsors in the slum in Kenya, Michelle boldly appeals:

Please help sponsor a child for £10 a month, help give a child an education so they can have a chance to leave the slum.

CONTACT her on 07961361363 or
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Check out the charity website on www.lighthouseofgodministries.org