Church Appoints first Kenyan Missionary in the US
 CEC Cathederal in Machakos , Kenya |
By Harrison Maina, AjabuAfrica.com
LOWELL, Mass. , DECEMBER10_The Charismatic Episcopal Church in Kenya has identified a Kenyan to be its first official missionary in America. He is Mr. Gerald Wahome Kamau whose ordination takes place this Sunday at the Cathedral Church in Machakos, an Eastern province town close to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
Consequently, Gerald Kamau, 51, flew out of Boston yesterday for Kenya to attend his ordination ceremony to be presided by Bishop Barnard Matolo, who leads the diocese of Machakos of the CEC church.
Bishop Matolo met Wahome last year during a tour to the US to attend CEC convocation in Orlando Florida.
After the convocation, Bishop Matolo visited friends in Lowell, Massachusetts, who subsquently brought him to Wahome’s house for lunch.
Speaking to AjabuAfrica.com in Lowell before his departure, Wahome said that his meeting with Bishop Matolo led the Bishop to request him to serve as a missionary for their church in America.
“I felt much honored for the request and I accepted,” said Wahome, a married father of four.
Gerald Wahome, the new CEC church missionary in America |
Wahome said that he is not new in the field of serving the lord. He got saved in 1989 and during the same year, he enrolled in the Goibet – Kakamega Theological College where he studied methodology in teaching religious studies in institutions.
He later enrolled with International corresponded Institute in Brussels, Belgium for further theological studies before starting his evangelical work in Kenya especially in many areas in Nyanza and Western provinces.
He has been an educator, who is widely traveled.
He immigrated to the US in 1998 where he continued preaching the gospel in various Kenyan community churches including the American Anglican church formerly based in Lowell, Saint Paul’s Community church now based in Lawrence and most recently at the Saint Stephen’s Anglican Church in Lowell where he was made a lay reader in 2001.
Wahome said he was looking forward to being ordained back in his motherland before returning to the US to continue to represent his church in the evangelical work.
The church in Kenya has it’s headquarters at the CEC Cathedral in Machakos, with membership of over 500.
Being the church’s first missionary in the US, Wahome will join 35 other priests of the CEC church in active duty in the Machakos diocese. The diocese serves many areas mostly in the eastern province of Kenya covering Machakos, Kibwezi, Makueni, Embu, Meru and Mbeere.
“I like serving the lord and volunteering in many areas,” said Wahome. “I am looking forward for this appointment.”
Recognizing that the work ahead of him is not easy, Wahome credited his faith in God at overcoming many obstacles and continuing with his evangelical work in addition to providing for his wife and children, all who are in America.
Recently, Wahome had a challenge of his life when one of his 22 year old sons got involved in a fatal car accident in the state of Connecticut, killing an elderly couple who were changing a tire in a breakdown lane.
The son, an athletics scholarship student at Umass Lowell, survived the early morning accident with minor injuries. No alcohol or drugs were involved in the accident, and the Kenyan community answered Wahome’s appeal for funds to defend his son in the resulting case in court. Over $10,000 was raised.
His eldest son is a soldier in the US National guard, and recently returned to the US from a tour of duty in Iraq.
After the ordination ceremony on Sunday, Wahome is expected to return to the US immediately to start his new duties.
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