Entire St Paul’s team now in Kajiado

Tuesday September 1st 2009

The dedication of the new motorbikes in Kajiado. The first group of parishioners from St Paul’s, Lisburn, who travelled to Kajaido Diocese in Kenya on August 21 are now well settled and getting to know the area, its churches and its people.

They were joined by a second group which journeyed out to Africa on August 28. Readers can continue to follow the team’s progress daily on the parish’s Forward Together website.

The team is led by the rector of St Paul’s, the Rev Jim Carson, assisted by Stephen McWhirter. On Sunday August 23 the group was involved in worship in Kajaido Cathedral, and during their first week team members were doing ‘bike’ classes and looking at the building programme at the Maasai Girls School.

Parishioners get down to some labour intensive work in Kenya. The St Paul’s team to Kajaido has four main aims….
 to provide the motor-bikes for use by the Diocese
 to help build a School for Maasai girls
 to learn from and have fellowship with the people there
 to extend our links in a tangible way in the future

In consultation with Ronnie Briggs, Church Mission Society Ireland (CMSI) Mission Partner in Kajaido, the parish raised £3,000 through a church collection and donations in June 2008 for a first motorbike. This was dedicated at a special service in Kajaido on November 16 last by Bishop Taama of Kajiado.

The Rev Jim Carson (centre) and members of the St Pauls' team take a well earned break. This is the first of another five motorbikes the parish are providing to coincide with the team’s visit. These came through St Paul’s Girls Brigade, a generous gift by a parishioner, Wallace Grammar School and fund-raising in the parish.

This is part of a three year project called Forward Together in Faith and Mission, at home and abroad, 2008-2010 which also includes a week of outreach in February 2010 which may also include some participation from Kajaido.