WorldconneX helps Waco church members meet needs in Kenya

Posted: 11/03/06

WorldconneX helps Waco church
members meet needs in Kenya

By David Williams

WorldconneX

WACO—When a minister challenges a church to send missionaries overseas and someone responds, what does he do next? That was the question on Ben Dudley’s mind when his mission trip report produced unexpected results.

Dudley, community pastor of University Baptist Church in Waco, told his church about a long-term partnership established with a Kenya orphanage discovered during a mission trip 18 church members took in May. He shared with the congregation his excitement that they now had a place on the other side of the world to send someone who felt called to international missions.

“One of the dreams of mine was that as students of Baylor graduated and wanted to go overseas for a few years or a shorter term that we would have a place that we knew about where they could go,” said Dudley. University Baptist is composed largely of Baylor University students.

“I was thinking ‘later,’ but after the service, one member came up and said, ‘I can go right now.’”

First Larissa Vigil and later Meg Robinson responded to what they considered God’s call to spend the first three months of 2007 in Kenya, living at the orphanage and teaching the children.

Dudley was excited about their response but uncertain what to do next.

“I started trying to figure out how to do that—how to send missionaries,” he said. “We had never done that before, except for a mission trip for a week or two.”

He called his home church, First Baptist of Amarillo, and asked Associate Pastor Jeff Raines for advice.

“He suggested I call WorldconneX,” Dudley said. “He told me they are set up to help churches do exactly what we were trying to do and help churches think through things they might not think about.”

Bill Tinsley, WorldconneX leader, and Walter Justl, WorldconneX front lines services leader, traveled to Waco, heard Dudley’s vision, and began offering help and guidance.

“They worked hard on their end to get us contacts with different people, to ask questions and help provide resources that we need,” Dudley said. “They’ve been really great.”

WorldconneX has been an integral part of the process, helping the church think through issues such as insurance, expenses, purpose, strategy and preparing for the unexpected, such as illness or injury, he said.

What Dudley appreciated most was the encouragement and affirmation of the church’s vision and the desire to send two of their own members on mission.

“You start questioning yourself, asking, ‘Is this right?’ WorldconneX came alongside us and really supported the idea and told us it doesn’t have to be that difficult. They told us that we can send someone over there to another country to serve people. Their sharing the vision of what we are trying to do has meant as much to me as any other resource they could give,” Dudley said. Since Robinson and Vigil committed to serve in Kenya, others also expressed interest, he said.

Robinson and Vigil will work at the Shelter Children’s Rehabilitation Center, also known as Simba’s Village. Vigil, 22, works in Waco as a nanny for three families and is taking time off for the mission. Robinson, 22, graduates from Baylor in December, just before they leave for Kenya. When she returns to Texas, she plans to be a teacher.

“I’m really excited,” she said. “I wish it were tomorrow. I have a heart for Africa and a desire to help people and a passion for kids and teaching, and I get to put all that together into one trip.” Run by a Christian family, Simba’s Village was started because of a tremendous need.

“A woman named Mary started it and runs it,” Dudley said. “She had started helping some women in Nairobi who had AIDS. When they died, she started taking in their kids. The number of kids kept growing, to 15, then 20. An organization gave her 20 acres outside of town to carry on the ministry. Now they have 120 children.”

As a part of their partnership with the orphanage, University Baptist also has begun a child-sponsorship program. Individual members of the church now sponsor 25 of the children, providing $45 a month each for their support and education through the orphanage.