On Eagles Wings Isaiah 40:31

Stories of Africa from Greg and Deb Snell, missionaries serving in Kenya, East Africa
with International Christian Ministries

We are so privileged to be able to share the stories coming from our ministry in Kenya, and marvel at the wonder of the
internet that allows you to read them as they happen. When missionaries first arrived in Africa there was no internet,
there was no reliable postal service from the “interior” - it took months for mail to reach “home”, if ever it did.
Missionaries brought their coffins with them, their calling many times bringing with it the reality that they would never
reach home again. Their “home” was where God brought them to serve him. How things have changed… We have
chosen Africa as our home in which to live out our lives, but access to our birth home is available to us. YOU are
available to us, our families are available to us. And what a blessing it is to be able to bring you into our world with On
Eagles Wings, our newsletter. We receive the encouragement from “home” and from you with gratitude. We serve here
with great humility as we think of the saints that went before us, recognizing their great sacrifice to serve God.

Greg’s Views Deb’s Views

One of the priorities for our ATS school in
Kitale and on Mt Elgon is to encourage our
graduates to see their faith as something
that impacts all aspects of their lives and
ministry. ICM and ATS (Africa Theological Seminary) trains
leaders and while we don’t run businesses, enter politics or
start orphanages ourselves, we hope that our alumni will
impact all aspects of life. We were recently given $1500 to
grant to graduates who have the best ideas of how they might
do that. I have received dozens of applications for a $300
grant and reading them is very exciting. The potential for
impact is enormous.
Recently I was with one of our USA board members
traveling on Mt. Elgon where we conducted an alumni
meeting for 64 of our grads and 20 other guests. Randy
knows something about coffee growing and roasting and was
overwhelmed by what he saw. Mt. Elgon is some of the best
coffee growing land in the world. But, because people could
not find a way to market their crops some were shifting to
other crops. Our ATS school is one of the most respected
institutions there, and when we showed up at a local
government office to talk about how the church and our
graduates can help in relieving the poverty the doors flew
wide open. As a result we have three potential sites for a 5
acre pilot farm and are encouraging backing of stakeholders.
My point in all this is to say that in spite of donor overload
many of you must be feeling due to all the needs you see in
the media please do not despair. The potential for significant
impact is great. You can make a difference.
IHG,
We need servant-leaders to step into the
breach in the Second Republic
This was the headline in The Nation,
Kenya’s leading newspaper the day after
what is a “Kenya reborn” moment and opportunity in her
history. On August 27, 2010, President Mwai Kibaki (the 3rd
since Independence in 1963), with the stroke of a pen, signed
the new Constitution, ushering in a new day.
I was encouraged by the tone of the article, excerpts of
which I quote: In the Bible it is written: “And no one puts new
wine into old wineskins”. If Jesus was addressing Kenyans
today, there would be no doubt about what he meant: Get
leaders that fit the bill!. With the new constitution, we have a
government that will require a host of new leaders and civil
servants. We need servant-leaders. And there is no better
servant-leadership than that exemplified by Jesus Christ
himself. We need shepherds and washers of feet.
Prof. James ole Kiyiape, in the Ministry of Education,
spoke at Daystar University and said “We must have a critical
mass of Christian scholars or intellectuals who will turn this
country around. An effective leader must have people-related
skills including conflict resolution. An effective leader fears
God, is faithful to God ...is a transformative leader, a spiritual
leader, and a Christian scholar who must “stand out”. He
must have deliberate focus, hope and optimism and guard
against an “interest capture mentality”.
This is exactly what ICM is all about! And what great
encouragement for us and for YOU as you help us train future
leaders to be servants and help us fashion the new wineskins
for the new wine. Blessings,
 ICM/ATS Student Profile: Josephat Baraza
Deb and I have known Josephat Baraza for about 12 years. He
has been blind as long as we have known him. Josephat lives by
himself in a mud-walled simple 2 room apartment he rents for
I $7 a month. Notice in the photo the wallpaper. He pays for his
N rent by selling candies in the community. After serving as a
youth pastor in his church he came to me and told me he wanted
T to enter the Certificate in Christian Ministry at our ICM school,
E ATS (Africa Theological Seminary). Now we had never had a
R blind student before so I checked with the staff and they said
that if he can qualify academically, and if his church would
N support him, they would admit him. I met with his pastor and
A told him that if the church contributed one half of each term’s
T fees, $100, I would find or give the other half. He recently sent
me his grades and there were 5 A’s and 4 B’s along with an
I announcement that he was going to move into the diploma program after graduating from the
O Certificate. Needless to say, I was pretty shocked. In his email he indicated he was ready to expand
N his business to better support himself as he is not looking for handouts. I have asked him to come up
with a business plan and how it might allow him to repay a start up loan if I am able to find someone
A who might provide a seed loan. I have no doubt that an email will be coming as I have found there is
L no self pity nor quitting in this young man. If you are interested in looking at his plan just email me at
snell@usa.com and when it is ready I will let you know.

C
H You can make a difference. Myron has...
R Recently ICM has been hit hard by the financial
I crisis and at the same time one of the two founders
of ICM, The Rev Dr Myron Goodwin, received a
S call to serve on a church staff. Somehow I can
T know that it is a legitimate calling from God while
at the same time our loss of much if his services (I
I
believe he will still be part of the team in some
A way) was not part of the original plan. The photo
N on the right is pretty symbolic. Myron is standing
next to my good friend and the first African to join
ICM staff, Rev James Kamau. James was mentored
M by Myron, as I was, and later went on to become a
I missionary himself and move to Tanzania to start
ICM there. The pastor on the right is part of the first BA class to graduate from ICM Tanzania and he
N plans to use his training with us to direct the Bible school his own denomination is running for their
I pastors. The impact Myron has had on my life and others is significant. Much of what I know about
S working and surviving in Kenya I learned from him. I quote his quips all the time. Many of the
systems we have in place were started by Myron. When he comes to Kenya for graduation countless
T people come to him and greet him as a long lost friend. The work he did to get ICM started in the
R right direction has resulted in ATS/ICM receiving the highest recognition from the church in Kenya,
I from the Kenya government, and from the top theological accrediting association on the continent of
Africa. All that was done at the same time he made sure we never lost sight of the primary value we
E own, DISCIPLESHIP. We exist to serve the Church by discipling and equipping its leaders. Myron
S has turned most of his work over to other people and they, like myself, are not ashamed to say that if
we can just carry on in his direction we will do ok.
 Hands and Feet and Hearts
We have just had a wonderful two weeks with 10 visitors from Massachusetts and Connecticut as
they came to visit us, help work on Eagles Wings, and serve the
community we live in at Naivasha. The MA group was escorted by
Greg’s cousin John, and Heidi, who brought their daughters and
their high school friends. The Connecticut group came from Peter
Smith’s church (former colleague of Greg’s at
Colonial Church in Edina, MN). This was the first
time we have reached out from Eagles Wings with
ways in which we can demonstrate our commitment
to be a part of the community we live in. It was a
“ground-breaking” time, planting seeds for our
future here. The pictures speak for themselves,
and for the impact that Jesus had on those who
came and those who were served. The team
played and worked, loved and learned,
A se E
taught and were taught, and have a of
memories that will carry them to another
blue
… A
level in their lives. G
The journey begins L
E
S

W
I
N
G
S

Dreaming about a Women’s Ministry Program

Recently we spent some time here in Kenya with Dr. Phil and Debbie
Walker, one of the two couples who founded ICM (with Myron and
Carol Goodwin). Phil and Greg were off to Kitale and Mt. Elgon to
hold Alumni meetings and an ICM staff retreat, while Debbie and I
caught up on each other’s lives as mothers, wives and grandmothers.
These times are very special for both of us...times to spend with our
American colleagues, mentors, visionaries and friends.
While staying at Eagles Wings, Debbie and I spent hours talking
about our missionary lives and our dreams for ministry, and especially
fellowship with our African sisters. As I shared my dreams for
developing a Women’s Ministry here, I asked if she would help me.
Debbie shared her desire to come alongside women, to hear their
stories, to hear about their joy and their pain and struggle. Together
we are looking forward to meeting them in their need and to working
together to shape a new kind of ministry where the idea is to learn
about each other and to take what each culture has to offer...through the heart of Jesus.
 Godincidences: God’s surprises

Like the rainbow over the little church in Africa, God’s promises to love and shelter us are true

This photo of our recent ATS alumni meeting on MT Elgon was taken too early in
the day (people walking arrived a bit late) but we ended up with 64 of the 114 Mt
Elgon campus graduates attending! Any seminary in the US would give their eye
teeth to getting over 50% of their alumni at a meeting! But that is just the
beginning. One of my highest priorities for my work here is to connect our
graduates closer to ATS. We want to impact them with continuous learning and we
want them to support ATS as well. In this photo Dr Walker is presenting his latest
focus which is TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP. We always say that
theological education is just an excuse to enter into pastors and church leaders
lives and help them live more like Jesus. The big challenge for ATS is to develop a
system of communication with our graduates. The reality is that many of them have never sent an email in their life! I did ask all
of them by text message recently to send me an email so I might get their address and one of them texted me back saying, “I
am 40 miles from the nearest cyber café but will make a trip there right now if it is urgent.” You can see the level of commitment
they have to ATS and that makes my work about as rewarding as it could be.

I woke this morning feeling gloomy and a little depressed (everyone has these days) and the fact that it
was a cold, rainy, cloudy day at Eagles Wings didn’t help my mood much. Well, God would have none
of it. As I went to the window in our little cottage/garage (we have dubbed it The Nest) to fix breakfast,
I looked at the bush, and sitting there singing her (I think) heart out, was a beautiful little sunbird,
leading other birds in a chorus of music. When she sang her heart thumped madly and it was glorious.
The image of Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor singing and dancing their hearts out in “Singin’ in the
Rain” came to mind. Remember? (I can hear anybody 45 and younger saying “who?” - they have no idea!) I hummed
the tune, recalling the words… I’m singin’ in the rain, just singin’ in the rain. What a glorious feeling,
I’m happy again. I’m laughing at clouds, so dark up above. The sun’s in my heart and I’m ready for love.
Let the stormy clouds chase everyone from the place. Come on with the rain, I have a smile on my face.
I’ll walk down the lane, with a happy refrain, just singin’, singin’ in the rain. To recall another favorite,
“The Sun will Come out Tomorrow”, I can see Annie singing her optimistic heart out too. Annie and
the sunbird just knew that to be true. Fast forward one day. The sunflower outside my window is
blooming as the sun comes out, and the birds are singing still! Let this be an encouragement and a
Godincidence in your life too. And remember...sing in the rain!

ICM is a 501(c)(3) and receives charitable contributions on our behalf, for which you are sent a receipt. An
equal monthly amount is sent to us based on estimates of gifts given so that in “lean” months there is
hopefully a reserve balance. We cannot receive designated gifts, so all contributions must be earmarked for
our personal support. Eagles Wings is a personal support ministry, so gifts may also be given through ICM,
however, receipt of those gifts are subject to the maximum determined monthly amount as well. Our support
goal for 2010 is underfunded and we could use your support if we are to accomplish all God has for us!

To support us please consider an annual personal support gift which can be given monthly or in any
distribution making it easy for you.
Make a check payable to ICM and attach a separate note for personal support of Greg and Deb Snell
Mail to: ICM, PO Box 9071, Bakersfield, CA 93389
You can also donate on line at www.icmusa.org
or through an automatic transfer from your checking account.
Questions? Call ICM USA at (661) 832-9741