I’m writing this on Sunday afternoon, and relative to Sunday, here’s a three-day version of Before, During, and After.
Saturday was a travel/tourist day for Mark and Hillary and a DM seminar day for Scott and James, at the end of which they all convened at Hillary and Joyce’s home near Nairobi, Kenya for a birthday party.
Sunday’s schedule had Scott preaching at a church an hour or so away in Kirinyaga, while Mark preached at Hillary’s church in Nairobi.
On Monday, Mark will drive with James to Eldoret to hold a DM seminar there, while Scott drives back to Kirinyaga with Hillary to hold a DM summit for group members and coaches in that region.
Sunday’s Prayer Requests:
Safe travel for all our missionaries.
Folks who heard Mark’s and Scott’s Sunday morning messages to remember and apply what the Holy Spirit spoke them in those services.
Receptive hearts and minds at the Eldoret DM seminar on Monday; no strife or distractions.
Refreshing, rejoicing, and refinement of processes at the Monday DM summit in Kirinyaga.
Sunday’s Details:
This trip is involving many hours of “ground transportation” which can be draining both physically and mentally, and all the moving of people and supplies from place to place can increase opportunities for things to be misplaced or forgotten. Thanks to God, our guys’ good planning, and your prayers, so far, so good. = )
Scott said his and James’ DM seminar in Mtito Andei “went really well” with 95 attending and a total of 44 registering to join disciple-makers groups!
[NOTE: Any believer in the U.S. or overseas can join a DM group and be trained in several months to lead his or her own group, but our preference is for church leaders and especially pastors to join DM groups because the pastor sets the direction and pattern for the whole church. Raising disciple-makers happens most effectively when the pastor has the vision for it and has personally experienced the process. That’s why Scott is always so jazzed to see how many pastors are registering to join DM groups.]
Scott said, “All of these [pictured below] are pastors, and they committed to join DM groups. Pastor Steve [of Disciple-Maker Indeed fame a few days ago] will travel with 3 of his coaches the 1.25 hours every week to lead these pastors in in-person groups.”
Many pastors who want to experience the disciple-making process
This weekend, our missionaries are trading partners, much like what happens in a square dance: you dance with one partner for a while and then you swing to a different partner. Last week, Mark and Hillary were working (dancing?!?) together to lead DM seminars for new people in Uganda and Rwanda, while Scott and James were doing their DM summit “dance” for DM group members and coaches in Kenya.
This coming week, all our folks will be in one country: Kenya. Mark will be partnered with James, both in Eldoret (some six hours from Nairobi) and other locations, and Scott will be traveling with Hillary to several additional places, generally closer to Nairobi.
I do realize all this travel information can be hard to follow and keep up with, and I/we very much appreciate your reading these updates and praying for these four missionary men and the many others who are helping them do so much ministry work. But thankfully it’s not all work and no play. = )
Saturday was Mark’s birthday, and his wish came true.
He got to tour a coffee plantation!
That evening, everyone gathered at Hillary and Joyce’s home to celebrate Mark’s birthday. (Hillary is taking the picture, and his wife, Joyce, is on the left in red.)
Birthday boy with cake and happy friends!
A good time was had by all, and Scott captioned the following two pictures, “Birthday celebration, African style!”
The cake has been cut…
And Mark is “serving” Hillary
Happy birthday, Mark!
And happy Sunday, praying TTC partners. We really appreciate you!
Both of our U.S. missionaries are having good meetings in their respective locations, with numerous people requesting to join DM groups and current disciple-makers being warmly appreciated and strongly challenged to lead more groups and raise more disciple-makers. Scott and James are holding their 2nd DM summit in Makindu, Kenya, while Mark and Hillary, after a spontaneous additional opportunity(!), are holding their 2nd DM seminar in Nyamata, Rwanda.
Friday’s Prayer Requests:
God to protect and help Scott with some 7 hours of challenging driving today and tomorrow.
Good health and physical stamina for Hillary, James, Mark, and Scott as they travel from place to place and lead many meetings.
The disciples who have been raised up and trained as DM coaches to promptly organize and effectively lead the many new DM groups now being formed in Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya.
Friday’s Details:
First, here’s the latest news from Mark. He and Hillary have led two DM seminars in the Kigali, Rwanda area (2 red map pins in lower left corner below). On Saturday they’ll fly back to Nairobi; no super-long bus ride this time!
Yesterday in Kanombe, Hillary and Mark had about 45 people attending the DM seminar; 14 want to join online groups, and 3 want to join in-person groups.
Mark teaching during Rwandan DM seminar #1 in Kanombe
Answering a question; what eye contact!
Mark said, “We were also invited to teach the youth that night. Hillary volunteered me! It was good. About 100 youth were there, and I shared with them how the refiner wants to transform them into his design to make them useful in the kingdom.”
Lots of Kanombe youth listening attentively
Mark says, “We are now heading to Nyamata about an hour away. After the seminar, Bishop Podo is going to take me to the genocide site. [Readers may recall the horrific slaughter of tens of thousands of Rwanda’s ethnic Tutsi minority population in 1994.] I am deeply honored to witness this. Lastly he will be taking me to get something very important. Real Rwandan coffee beans!!!!!!!! Thank you, Jesus. 😉” On Saturday Mark and Hillary will FLY back to Nairobi; no all-day bus ride this time!
Dinner is served!
And last, but definitely not least, here’s the latest news from Scott about his 2nd Kenya DM summit (for current DM group attendees and leaders) in Makindu, Kenya.
He says, “Pastor Steve has raised up 8 coaches that have now [raised up] over 50 disciple-makers. He was my interpreter into Swahili.”
Pastor Steve interpreting for Scott
We acknowledged him as a Disciple-maker Indeed.” [Note: A Disciple-Maker Indeed is one who has raised up disciples who are making more disciples; that is, he or she is a spiritual “grandparent.”]
James and Scott recognizing Pastor Steve as a Disciple-Maker Indeed!
“At today’s Makindu DM summit, we had around 80, with 63 paying the 100 KES registration. That was a big win!”
NOTE: In some nations/cultures/places, there exists the idea that when a missionary, especially from the west, comes to lead a seminar, the missionary should pay the expenses for local people to attend. While we are definitely willing to help when necessary, TTC generally believes that people (anywhere) tend to benefit more from a meeting when it costs them something – even a small amount – to participate. Exchange rates always vary, but today 100 KES (Kenya Shillings) $0.77 USD. For comparison, the average daily wage across all jobs in the U.S. is $256. The average daily wage across all jobs in Kenya is $22.
Scott said, “About 18 signed up to join DM groups, and about a dozen current group members committed to lead additional new groups. One will start this Sunday! We held the meeting at Pastor Steve’s bishop’s church. He (Bishop Dr. Japheth Munyao) attended some of the sessions, and what I was saying resonated with him. He asked one of his regional overseers to talk to Steve about how to implement the process in his churches. He has 400 churches, all in Mukueni County. 🤠” Mukueni (“muh-KWAY-nee”) County is about the size of the state of Delaware.
Scott continued, “It is about 1.25 hours to Mitito Andei for tomorrow’s DM Seminar and 4.5 hours home. 😳 I have to drive on a two-lane road with trucks like interstate 44. Prayer please!”
James and Scott have now wrapped up their time in Makindu (red map pin near bottom center of this map). On Saturday morning (about 11:00 PM Friday MO time), they will do the 1.25 hour drive to Mtito Andei (no, I can’t pronounce that!), lead a several-hour DM seminar, and drive back to Hillary’s home near Nairobi (red map pin at left center of the map, just below large green “25th JUL” leaf), where they will eventually meet up with Hillary and Mark. It will be a very long, full day; hence prayer request #1 above.
Finally, Scott said, following his time in Makindu, “There is a school at the church. I had to get a picture!”
Aren’t these girls adorable? = )
We hope you are encouraged as you follow along during this mission trip and pray for our guys today!
While Mark and Hillary were leading a DM seminar in Rwanda on Thursday to introduce the disciple-making concept, Scott and James were leading a DM summit in Kenya to encourage, equip, and challenge many current DM group members to reach out and lead groups. On Friday, each of our missionary pairs will follow the same pattern, repeating what they did today in other relatively nearby areas.
Thursday’s Prayer Requests:
Those who have attended Hillary and Mark’s past three DM seminars in Uganda and Rwanda to follow through to join DM groups ASAP; strong connections among group members to form quickly.
Those who were at James and Scott’s DM summit on Thursday and who committed to lead groups to be Spirit-led in connecting with people to invite; that their enthusiasm would be contagious.
God to watch over Scott and Mark, keeping them healthy, strong, and focused, despite their full schedules and almost daily travels.
Thursday’s Details:
Scott said, “Great meeting today. All of these [pictured below] are in groups and have committed to start their own groups!”
Ready to lead their own DM groups!
He continued, “72 attended, and 10 [actually] signed up to lead a group, and many more committed to lead. The host pastor, Pastor Joseph, has committed to go to Basil, about 20 miles away, to raise up a group there. He knows the pastors fellowship there.” It is amazing to me that from a handful of “seeds” (those pastors Scott has been actively discipling for a number of years), God has brought forth such a great harvest of disciple-makers here in Kenya.
Below, James is seated to the right of Scott. In appreciation for their service and leadership, they have both been “hooded” with honorary plaid shawls.
72 DM summit attendees in Kajiado
I’ll close today’s update with a true “small world” event.
Scott and I have very dear friends we met in Little Rock over 30 years ago. Neal and Danette Childs live in Niger, West Africa where they have a truly incredible church planting and discipleship ministry that is transforming that nation and reaching into many other nations of the world.
Today, I received this picture from Mark, who as you well know, is currently leading DM seminars with Hillary in Rwanda. Note the comment he included with this photo.
“Ran into a friend of Scott and Patty Roberts: Pastor Neal Childs”
Absolutely astounding!!!
Now, let’s think about this. One pastoral friend of ours, Mark, is 7,000 miles from his home in southwest Missouri, another pastoral friend of ours, Neal, is 2,000 miles from his home in Niamey, Niger, and these two men (who both know us) just “happen” to meet?!? In Kigali, Rwanda?!?!?!? To quote a classic line from The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie, “I don’t think that’s possible!” But we do have the picture to prove it. = ) WOW!
I am quite sure that the God who put that “chance” meeting together is big enough and strong enough and creative enough to handle any challenges our teams may face today! Thank you for joining your faith with theirs and praying for good success in all their activities during this trip.
Hillary and Mark had some amazing responses at their second Kampala, Uganda area DM seminar. They are now on a 12+ hour bus ride to Kigali, Rwanda, where they will present two DM seminars, one on Thursday and one on Friday. Meanwhile, Scott has arrived in Nairobi, Kenya and driven to Makindu, where he will meet James and they will present two DM summits (explanation below), one on Thursday and one on Friday. Praise Goda that all our men are actively ministering in their various locations.
Wednesday’s Prayer Requests:
Lots of good, sound sleep for both Mark and Scott, who have each had very long and exhausting days of travel on Wednesday.
Super smooth teamwork between Hillary and Mark in Rwanda and James and Scott in Kenya; for God to guide and work through each pair to accomplish exactly what he wants done during the next few days.
At both DM seminars in Rwanda and at both DM summits in Kenya, the people to come with open hearts, high expectations, and great faith; God to meet them and encourage them in many ways.
Wednesday’s Details:
First, let me explain the difference between DM seminars (which Mark and Hillary have held two of in Kampala, Uganda and will soon hold two of in Kigali, Rwanda) and DM summits (which Scott and James are about to hold two of in Makindu, Kenya).
A Disciple-Maker’s seminar is open to pastors and church leaders who are new to the concept of raising disciple-makers. At a DM seminar, attendees learn why disciple-making matters and how Jesus did it, and they are invited to join a DM group to experience the process personally, so they can eventually reproduce it in their own churches. In school terms, a DM seminar is like (but much more fun and interesting than!) a series of class lectures.
A Disciple-Maker’s summit is open only to people who are already actively involved in a DM group. This includes both DM group leaders (“coaches”) and DM group members. At a DM summit, attendees are enthusiastically affirmed for their commitment, encouraged to keep pressing forward, and given some “on the job” training about starting and leading new DM groups. In school terms, a DM summit is like a pep rally.
Back in the day, Scott personally led all the DM seminars everywhere, but now his disciples, including Hillary, James, Mark, and others whom they have discipled, are fully capable of leading DM seminars everywhere. Isn’t that exciting?!? Scott is working himself out of a job, and that is essential if any growing organization is to become sustainable. He’s delegating much of the initial work to others and moving on to provide more advanced training to those who are ready to lead.
Because our TTC base is so strong in Kenya, the process of raising disciple-makers is further along there than it is in neighboring nations, so this week James and Scott will be leading summits in Kenya while Hillary and Mark are leading seminars in Uganda and Rwanda.
Hopefully all that makes at least some sense!
And now, since you’ve read this far, you certainly deserve some pictures. = )
Mark said, “We had our 2nd DM seminar yesterday. 84 attended, and 23 signed up for groups.”
Mark teaching the 84 at Rubaga in Kampala, Uganda
“We then had a pastor that attended come to us and said, ‘Will you come teach my leaders this tonight?’ So Hillary and I went and taught them a shortened version of the seminar. Every single person that attended said, ‘I need to be a disciple. Please disciple us!!’ 29 attended and 29 signed up for groups!”
29 more sign-ups!
I asked Mark who would be leading all these new groups. In some countries in the past, Scott has led a DM seminar, people have signed up to join groups, but since 12 is about the max per group, we haven’t had enough trained leaders for the necessary number of groups. It’s been a significant problem.
But Mark said, “Hillary has coaches ready to lead these new groups.” (That’s just one benefit of raising up more generations of disciple-makers.) “The pastor is also going to diligently bring together many other pastors to train them as well. In this picture, the short one is Pastor Thomas Kato, and Pastor Andrew is the taller one. They were the organizers of these events in Uganda. They are excited and encouraged.”
Hillary, Pastor Thomas, Pastor Andrew, Mark
The next morning in Kampala, Hillary and Mark boarded a bus for the long ride to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
At the bus station in Kampala
How Mark looked when he boarded the bus to Rwanda
Eleven hours later, Mark said, “The bus ride is very long and cramped. But it is just fine. Probably another hour at the most I think.”
And My Hero, who arrived at the Nairobi airport at 6:30 AM local time on Wednesday said, “I drove us from Nairobi to Kajiado on the left side of the road. 😳 We arrived.”
Unlike much of the U.S., where nearly everybody has a car, in many other nations that is not the case. Only the fairly well-off have cars, and others travel by public transport. Hillary has a car, but since he is currently away from home in Uganda and Rwanda, Scott has borrowed Hillary’s car to get around in Kenya this week. Scott continued, “I didn’t sleep at all last night. When I arrived, I found Hillary’s car had some problem, so rather than rest, I drove around trying to get it fixed. I still need to prepare my main message for tomorrow’s DM summit”. 😃
Traffic jam!
“We had a big dinner at the Anglican guest house in Kajiardo tonight: Beef, chicken, spinach, ugali (“ooh-GAH-lee,” a simple, staple dish in many African countries, primarily made from cornmeal cooked in boiling water until it forms a thick, dough-like consistency) and chapati (“chah-PAH-tee,” a type of unleavened flatbread popular in East Africa). I also bought bananas along the side of the road.”
Scott’s big dinner, which he ate with James(I think?)
“It has been about 30+ hours since I have had any significant rest. Looking forward to sleeping well!”
I’m sure both of our teams on the ground in Africa are also looking forward to the results of our prayers. Thank you for pausing to take their requests to God today!
We have good news today: Hillary and Mark held their first Disciple-Makers seminar on Monday and all went well, with half the people requesting to join DM groups. Mark and Hillary are now gearing up for the next seminar in another part of Kampala on Tuesday, Mark has been reunited with his lost luggage (thank God!), and Scott is on his way to Nairobi, where he’ll land in the middle of the night on Tuesday night (MO time).
Monday’s Prayer Requests:
Good attendance at Tuesday’s DM seminar; no distractions that would hinder what God wants to do; Mark and Hillary to effectively communicate WHY raising disciple-makers is so vital.
Safety, peace, and good sleep for Scott as he travels to Nairobi. All his luggage to arrive with him.
Our Two from the States (Mark and Scott) to have great relationships with our current and potential team members in the various countries they’ll be visiting on this trip.
Monday’s Details:
First, any guesses on what this is? Read on to find out!
Is it decorative? Edible? Functional?
Hillary and Mark’s first DM seminar was held in a church in the village of Nakabugo on the outskirts of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, which has a population of over 4 million. Mark said, “We had 23 in attendance today, and out of the 23 we had 12 sign up for DM groups.” Here’s the whole gang! Mark is the guy near the back on the right with the long red beard, and Hillary is to the left of him wearing glasses.
DM seminar attendees in Nakabugo, Uganda
Although the crowd wasn’t huge, it was a very powerful session, and Mark and Hillary were encouraged. Both a WhatsApp [online] group and a physical [in-person] group will be starting there in Nakabugo. Hillary and Mark understand that more people are expected at Tuesday’s seminar in Rubaga, which is one of five sections of the city of Kampala.
I think a few more comments about geography might be helpful here.
You may recall this map of Africa showing Kenya (blue star) and Uganda (red star). I’ve added a purple arrow pointing to the tiny country of Rwanda.
The whole African continent
Now, let’s zoom in a bit. Here’s a map of central Africa, the part “below” Africa’s big hump on the west, showing Kenya (blue star, where Scott is headed), Uganda (red star, where Mark and Hillary are now), and tiny Rwanda (purple arrow).
Central Africa
And we can zoom in even farther, to show our particular countries of interest in East Africa: Kenya (blue star, where Scott is headed), Uganda (red star, where Mark and Hillary are now), and tiny Rwanda (purple arrow).
East Africa
Now, you may well be thinking, “Patty, why on earth are you showing us all these maps?!?” Well, actually just so that this next one will make more sense!
On this mission trip, Mark (and often Hillary) will be ministering in one place, while Scott (and often James) will be ministering somewhere else. And these great men will often be in a given place for only one day. So… our good friend and TTC team member in India, Edwin, has created a series of daily maps, so that we can see where various people are when. And since it’s still barely July 21, here’s Edwin’s July 21 map. = )
At the top, right under “2025 Mission Trip,” there are two red map pins. One is Nakabugo village, where Hillary and Mark led the first DM seminar today, and the other is Rubaga district, where they will lead the next seminar on Tuesday (July 22). Those pins are very close together because Nakabugo and Rubaga are both basically in Kampala. The land to the east of Lake Victoria is Kenya, the land to the west of the lake is Uganda, and tiny Rwanda is in the bottom left corner.
July 21 – Mark (and Hillary) near Kampala, Uganda
All that said, here are the three most important things to remember today:
All these maps show places that are full of people, and reaching the people with the gospel and a proven way to make disciples is what matters.
Your prayers each day for our team and for those they are interacting with are powerful and so vital. Thank you!
Mark’s portable espresso machine was still in his lost suitcase when he got it. = )
And the mystery picture we started with? Mark said,
“Coffee beans! As a snack. I am [such a] blessed man!”
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