Fundraising for a car for ministry

Greetings from Nairobi Kenya.

My name is Paul Tino Mpishi. I am an Anglican priest, who graduated from Fuller Seminary, Pasadena, California, USA in the class of 2017. I serve in the Diocese of Mt Kenya South, located in central Kenya, but spreads to part of the Rift Valley, a 15-minute drive from Nairobi, which is the capital city of Kenya. My Wife and I are so grateful for the things that God has been doing ever since I went back home to Kenya. Just before leaving Fuller, The Doctor of Ministry office enrolled me in the Dmin program through a full scholarship. This was a blessing from God, and I am forever grateful for the kindness of Fuller Seminary and the larger Christian Fraternity that sends funds to FullerSeminary to equip both local and international students who have been called to full-time ministry.

Since resettling back in Kenya, through skills I acquired while in the U.S, I have become a resource to church planters and lay leaders, training them to plant churches and nurturing them to establish stability, successfully engage in conflict management, and church planting in the nomadic communities, etc. At the beginning of this year, I was appointed as Area Dean in charge of a suburb town church that houses diverse people about 25% of whom work as casual laborers in a nearby shoe processing company, while about 35% are tea pickers and processors. The remaining percentages are civil servants, farmers, and freelancers.

In addition to St Andrew's church, I also oversee five parishes with pastors and three church plants. This added responsibility is a clear affirmation that God called me to a ministry of equipping pastors to plant churches in Kenya.

I recently suffered a huge setback in the ministry; On Saturday, 29/07/2023 my family car, which was used for ministry was stolen by a car wash attendant, who later crashed it after hitting a wall on a sharp corner in the highway. The police have circulated fliers in an effort to catch the perpetrator, but it appears he fled from the hospital unnoticed. Thus far he has not been found and is presumed hiding in or around Nairobi. I used the car to help with different parish ministries like pastoral care and home blessings; hospital visitations, and serving 35 senior citizens in several homes with Holy Communion and gift bags. Additionally, I used the vehicle to attend monthly meetings, church planter's training sessions, and drop off and pick up my children from school. My ability to effectively do my job as a pastor has been severely curtailed as a result of not having a car. Although the car was fully insured, the insurance company is taking a long time to settle the claim, and most likely, the settlement amount will be insufficient for me to purchase another car. I have been using public transportation since my vehicle was stolen, but needless to say, this has been rather cumbersome and inconvenient. I have on occasion used Uber and cab/taxi services, but the costs are expensive. Sometimes I resort to walking and or I hire motorcycles to get to my destinations.

Grace Times ministries has been a supporter of my church ministry for a while and the director, Arthur Buckley, has visited our church a number of times so he is very familiar with our ministry. He has been a source of inspiration and hope, ever since we lost our car. The ministry through my request agreed to form a GoFundMe account after I realized that it is difficult to form one in Kenya. All funds collected will be wired to us by Grace Times at the end of the fundraiser. I need your help; probably we were in school together at Fuller Seminary; or perhaps maybe we worshiped in the same church group. If you have a heart to support missions overseas. This is a great opportunity to do so. A dollar will make a difference, and it will be highly appreciated.

In case you have a prayer need, please pass it along and we will pray for you.

Regards,

Paul and Frasiah