God's Global Miracles: Special Patreon Release with Hamisi Kirenga and Roy Sasaka Telewa
Psalm 105:1 (NIV) "Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done."
*Transcription Below*
Hamisi Kirenga is the Director of Spread Truth Africa and Roy Sasaka Telewa is the CEO of the National Government Affirmative Action Fund for the government of Kenya.
Spread Truth Africa: Twitter, Facebook, and Website
Questions we discuss:
Will you share your conversion to Christianity?
The two of you really came together during Covid. Tell us about the miracles you witnessed during that unique season.
In addition to what you've already shared, are there any other incredible God stories that stand out in your mind?
Other Episode mentioned from The Savvy Sauce:
Miracles of God with Founder of Midwest Food Bank, David Kieser
Thank You to Our Sponsors: Chick-fil-A East Peoria and The Savvy Sauce Charities
Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website
Please help us out by sharing this episode with a friend, leaving a 5-star rating and review, and subscribing to this podcast!
Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”
Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”
Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“
Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“
Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
*Transcription*
Music: (0:00 – 0:09)
Laura Dugger: (0:09 - 3:08)
Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.
I want to say a huge thank you to today's sponsors for this episode, Chick-fil-A East Peoria and Savvy Sauce Charities.
If this is your first time here, welcome! You may be wondering what it means to have a special Patreon release. So, here's the scoop. Patreon was a platform we used to generate financial support for The Savvy Sauce, and we expressed our thanks to those paying patrons by giving them a bonus episode every month. But in 2024, we transitioned away from Patreon when we became a non-profit called The Savvy Sauce Charities. The podcast is part of this non-profit, which exists to resource loved ones to inspire growth and intimacy with God and others.
So, people used to pay to support us through Patreon, but now they can just donate directly to our nonprofit. We spend thousands of dollars each year to record and produce these episodes, and we do pray that they're beneficial and that God sees fit to use them to be transformational in your life. If that is the case, if you have ever benefited from an episode of The Savvy Sauce, would you consider showing your gratitude through your financial generosity? Any amount is greatly appreciated. In fact, if every listener gave only $1 per month, it would completely offset our costs. We have all the details on website, thesavvysauce.com, but feel free to also reach out to our team anytime if you want to partner together. Our email address is info@thesavvysauce.com.
And now I'm pleased to share this episode with you that used to only be available to paying patrons. My guests for today are Hamisi Kirenga and Roy Sasaka Telewa. Hamisi is the Spread Truth Africa director, and Roy is the CEO of the National Government Affirmative Action Fund for the Government of Kenya. My dad met Hamisi years ago through a ministry opportunity in New York City. Dad called me yesterday saying that Hamisi is visiting from Kenya, and he was staying about 30 minutes away from where I live, but he was going to leave the following day.
Dad offered to babysit so that I could drive over to interview Hamisi and Roy. It was such a privilege to hear powerful ways God is at work in Africa and beyond. Here's our chat.
Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Hamisi and Roy.
Roy Sasaka Telewa: (3:08 - 3:13)
Thank you so much, Laura, for having us today. Thank you, Laura. We are excited to be here.
Laura Dugger: (3:13 - 3:26)
Well, I am so honored to get this time with you. And I'm going to start with you, Hamisi. Can you take us all the way back and share a little bit about your childhood and what your upbringing was like?
Hamisi Kirenga: (3:26 - 4:01)
As you already heard from Laura, my name is Hamisi. I'm from Kenya. I was born in a small town called Mombasa, which is on the southern side of Kenya. It's predominantly a Muslim town. Actually, it's the oldest town in Kenya, because that's where the Portuguese came in and started the town, and then the Arabs, because it's along the coastal line. And I was born in a family of 11 children. I happen to be the eighth one. And it's a Muslim family. And I think I'll share with you later on about my conversion.
Laura Dugger: (4:03 - 4:14)
Thank you for sharing that, Hamisi. And just for any of us who are unfamiliar, are you born a Muslim? Are you considered to be born a Muslim, or is it a faith that you choose?
Hamisi Kirenga: (4:15 - 4:22)
I will say that if you're born in a Muslim family, you're pretty much going to grow up as a Muslim. You have no choice.
Laura Dugger: (4:23 - 4:28)
And so for you, what did that look like? You said you were born into a Muslim family.
Hamisi Kirenga: (4:28 - 5:05)
Yes. Like I mentioned to you earlier, Laura, is that when you're born in Mombasa, Islam is the largest religion. And chances are it's just automatic for you to just follow Islam in Mombasa. And actually, it's the coolest thing because every Friday, every place is closed, and people go for prayers. And in fact, if you don't worship on Friday, you don't look cool for the people. And therefore, as I grew up in a Muslim home, I found it to be the norm. There was nothing alarming, and I enjoyed it actually in Mombasa until we moved to Nairobi, which is another town.
Laura Dugger: (5:06 - 5:10)
And then moving to Nairobi, what is it that brought your family there?
Hamisi Kirenga: (5:11 - 5:27)
My dad had moved there because he got a new job. He was an engineer. And when my dad got a new job, a better-paying job, and Nairobi is one of the most progressive cities in Africa, and if you get a good job in Nairobi, chances are you get a better pay. And who doesn't want a better pay?
Laura Dugger: (5:27 - 5:31)
I love it. You said that with a smile on your face.
Hamisi Kirenga: (5:32 - 5:32)
Yes.
Laura Dugger: (5:33 - 5:40)
And so from my understanding, you have made a conversion to Christianity. Can you elaborate more on that journey?
Hamisi Kirenga: (5:41 - 11:06)
When you came to Nairobi, and Nairobi is not as Mombasa like I mentioned earlier, Mombasa is pretty much a Muslim town, a town that Arabs stayed there for quite a long time. And when we moved to Nairobi, Nairobi is more of a cosmopolitan town. And being a progressive town, my father and mother, when they moved in, I was enrolled in a public primary school. And our educational system is in a way that you take them, take eight years in primary school, and then four years in high school, and then four years in the university. It's what they used to call 844. And it is very unforgiving system because it's like the pyramid. At the bottom, you have hundreds of students getting in.
But as you go up along the pyramid, few of them actually make it because you have what we call few universities in Kenya and few high schools. And I was not the best student in primary school. I used to be very mischievous. I used to be an indisciplined student. And I never used to do quite well in my exams. And we were about to do what we call our class 8 exams. And whenever we do class 8 exams, we have preachers who come and pray for us in schools. If you're Muslims, you gather together and pray. If you're Christians, you gather together and pray because these exams need prayers. If you don't pray and you have divine intervention, chances are even students get scared because they mean life to death.
If you don't make it, you have to repeat. And every student in Kenya will do the same exams. And I was in a Muslim class because Christians were gathered together. And as I was teaching the Muslims, I was done, and we prayed with the Muslims. I used to enjoy teaching and leading Muslims in prayer. I used to be very religious as a young person and committed to my ways. As I finished leading the prayers for the Muslims, I decided to go and listen to what the Christians were saying. And I sat at the back, and the preacher who was teaching the Christians and praying for them for the exam, because I must tell you, Laura, these exams are unforgiving. And many students fail in the exams.
And as a result of that, they won't progress to the high school, which is the first form, in the 844. And as I listened to the preacher, he said something that stuck into my heart. He was talking about the virgin birth in Luke, and he was talking about that verse that says, with Christ all things are possible. You remember when Mary laughed when she was told she's a virgin and she's going to give birth? And she laughed and said, how can it be? I'm a virgin. And the preacher was preaching to the Christians and tells them to put their faith in God because with Christ all things are possible, and they can make it. And that statement stuck in my heart.
As I was growing up, I grew up understanding Christ to just be a prophet because that's what Muslims are taught. He's a prophet and nothing much. And when I went back home, I now know that it is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit started convicting me that Christ is not just but a prophet, but He is the Son of God. And I remember when I sat at home, I could hear this audible voice speaking to me that I should ask Him whatever I need, and He will give it to me. I was a young man. Definitely I could not ask for a Lamborghini. And the exams were coming, Laura, and that was the most important thing in my life at that stage. My dad really wanted me to pass in my exams because he was an engineer, remember?
And he really felt let down by me because I was not doing well in class. And I remember the Holy Spirit said, if you want to pass in your exam because that's what I asked Him. And He told me, before every exam, you place your hands on the exam paper and pray this prayer. If Christ, you are God, and everything is possible with you, let me pass my exams. And I remember in every exam, I placed my hands. And when the results came out, I was top of the school. And I could not believe it. And I remember in that point, I felt, wow, the Holy Spirit has answered. But still, I was hurting in my heart. I could not just say yes to Christ. And I remember I went to a Christian camp. Our sister in our family was the first one to be born again.
And she had been inviting me to Christian camps. We call them in Kenya, Word of Life camp. And I remember it was in the coast. I went to this camp. It was August 1996 on Sunday at night. And as I was trying to sleep, after a while, I could not sleep. And after the Holy Spirit made me pass my exams, this was the following year, I was still not, you know, Muslims don't easily surrender their heart. And I remember at night in 1996, I woke up and the Holy Spirit said, it is my turn now for you to give your life to me. I remember I woke up in the middle of the night. A gentleman called Charles, he now lives in Canada. He's the one who led me to Christ one o'clock in the morning. I could not sleep. And the rest is history.
Laura Dugger: (11:08 - 11:21)
Wow. And there are tears in my eyes right now. Even hearing every testimony is so powerful. And then just a point of connection, August 19th is when the Holy Spirit convicted me and I was born again.
Hamisi Kirenga: (11:21 - 14:33)
Wow. Wow. Interesting. It's amazing how God works. And at that point for me, I realized Christ is not just a prophet. He's God. And there's nothing he cannot do. And for many of us who think God is abstract, God is very functional. He hears us and He's there. And for me, I just needed to know that. And after that, I can tell you it was not an easy walk in the park. My mother had already passed on by that period. And my father told me that now you can let your Christ help you. I remember he actually kicked me out of the house. And it was a very difficult time in high school. And after that, I remember I had a lot of bitterness with my dad because he abandoned me. And he needed nothing to do with me.
And I remember when I finished high school, I did so well in school again. I got a clean A and I was going to do medicine and surgery to become a doctor. I really wanted to become a doctor. Even my walking style was a doctor. Even the way I talked to other students was a doctor. And I remember the Holy Spirit telling me again, I did not let you pass or give you this brain for you to become a doctor. And my senior pastor, who is Elijah Nwanji, who is the senior pastor of Rejoice Baptist Church, at that point I felt God calling me to full-time ministry. He gave me two books. One was Experiencing God by Blackabee. And the other one was The Call. The Call is a book that I believe was written by an author. I can't remember his name.
But it had a quote from Charles Spurgeon. And Charles Spurgeon said, It would be a great shame for you to step down to be a king if God has called you. And I paraphrased it. And I said, It would be a great shame if God has called me for me to step down to be a doctor. And at the age of 19, I decided to abandon my medical classes and pursue pastoral leadership. And the church, which was Rejoice Baptist Church, accepted that, that I would become their youth pastor. I was the first youth pastor. They never had a youth ministry. And I became a youth pastor at the age of 19. And the Lord told me He cannot use me then because I had a lot of bitterness and anger against my dad. And I needed to make things right.
I remember it was the hardest thing to do. Because again, Laura, for me, the Holy Spirit speaks through an audible voice. That's how He comes to me when I need to make the most important decisions of my life. I always pray and He speaks to me. I can hear His voice. And my dad was at home. I remember I had to go back home. And I had to tell him, Dad, I forgive you. But I also want you to forgive me. And that was opening up another long story. My dad later on gave his life to Christ. And he came to church. And he was my best friend before he passed on. And right now he's in heaven. And for me, that is the best part of my Christian walk. Is to know that because of the decision I made to follow Christ, my dad eventually gave his life to Christ.
I lost him for a while, but I gained him for eternity. And that is the joy.
Laura Dugger: (14:35 - 14:46)
That is an incredible testimony. And even to go back and elaborate a little bit further, were you approximately 14 years old when you gave your life to the Lord?
Hamisi Kirenga: (14:46 - 15:54)
Yes, I was 14. And you can imagine a 14-year-old, the mother has passed on. And the dad has said, you're on your own with your Christ. And I had a very hard decision to make. Either I want to go back home. Either I stay with my faith. But again, I could share the whole day about a series of events of how God took care of me throughout. The school that I went to actually paid my school fees. They took care of me. And they loved on me. And God provided everything I needed. In fact, my father, the reason why he gave his life to Christ, one of the things he told me is that he saw how Christ took care of me when he abandoned me. And that is what I want to say to the many people probably listening to this.
Sometimes you want to make this hard decision and you're scared. But I can tell you if God is leading in making this decision, either going into full-time ministry or being born again, don't stop doing it because in that decision, it is where my dad found Christ. He would have never known about Jesus if I had backed off.
Laura Dugger: (15:55 - 16:10)
Well, and I'm sure through your ministry you've gotten to see so many souls place their hope and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. But I can't imagine a more celebratory time than seeing your father make that choice.
Hamisi Kirenga: (16:10 - 17:30)
That was the best time, I must tell you, Laura. There's nothing so joyous than to see someone who you love, who has hurt you, and later on comes to say yes to Christ and tears rolling down his cheeks. And it's not an easy thing for a Muslim man to give his life to Christ. And for me, that spoke volumes. And he was the first one to come and bless me when I got into full-time ministry. And my senior pastor talked with him and my dad said, he has my full blessing. For me, that spoke volumes. And even today when I look back, that was the best moment of my life because I know one day I will see him in heaven. And that's what gives me joy every day. In fact, there are times I feel like failing, throwing in the towel.
I remember his last words before he died. That son, keep the faith. And I look forward to seeing you in heaven. And that's what keeps me going, even in the most difficult times. I remember his last words. He had terminal illness, and I spoke with him even in the last day in his deathbed. And he told me, keep the faith and keep walking in your relationship with God. And I look forward to seeing you one day in heaven. And every time I feel like giving up, because sometimes it can be hard out here, I remember his words and they give me joy to know that he's up there cheering me one day. I will see him.
Laura Dugger: (17:30 - 23:14)
Yes. Thank you. Thank you.
And now a brief message from our sponsor.
Did you know you can go to college tuition-free just by being a team member at Chick-fil-A East Peoria? Yes, you heard that right. Free college education. All Chick-fil-A East Peoria team members in good standing are immediately eligible for a free college education through Point University. Point University is a fully accredited private Christian college located in West Point, Georgia. This online self-paced program includes 13 associate's degrees, 17 bachelor's degrees, and two master's programs, including an MBA. College courses are fully transferable both in and out of this program.
This could even be a great option to complete your general education courses and then transfer to the college of your choice and save money in the process. So, if you're looking for an affordable college option while simultaneously gaining valuable work experience and earning an income, Chick-fil-A East Peoria is the place for you. You don't have to go into debt to get a great education. To apply today, please go to Chick-fil-A.com forward slash East Peoria and click on the career tab. You can also call the restaurant at 309-694-1044 to find out more. And if you aren't located near Chick-fil-A East Peoria, make sure you check with your local Chick-fil-A restaurant to see if they also participate in the Elevate program with Point University. Thanks for your sponsorship.
Are you utilizing Savvy Sauce Charities to full capacity? Other than our special Patreon release episodes, our content is now available in video form in addition to our audio only, and we have written transcriptions for every episode. Visit our website today, thesavvysauce.com, to access all these forms of interviews. And while you're there, make sure you sign up for our email list to receive encouragement, questions, and recommended resources about once a month to promote your own practical chats for intentional living. I also want to remind you about the financial side of Savvy Sauce Charities.
As you know, we recently became a non-profit, which means all your financial support is now tax deductible. There are multiple ways to give, and we would be so honored if you would share your financial support with us so that we can continue producing free content that is accessible to the general public. Your money will go to support creatively getting the gospel message of Jesus Christ to the nations as we continue to share the good news on every episode. And I say this is reaching the nations because The Savvy Sauce podcast is downloaded in all 50 United States, as well as over 100 countries around the world. Your financial support also supports practical needs, such as aiding our team to continue producing helpful content that is practical and uplifting and always pointing to Jesus.
Your financial support, furthermore, will help us continue to expand our reach and secure future projects we have planned for this ministry. If your ears are hearing this message right now, I am specifically asking you to give. We are so grateful for any amount, and our team will continue to seek to be good stewards of the gifts offered to us. So, if you want to write a check or set up an ongoing payment with your bank that delivers a check to us each month, this is the most beneficial way to give because no percentages are taken out for processing fees. You can make your check out to Savvy Sauce Charities at P.O. Box 101, Roanoke, IL 61561. Additionally, with our new website, we now have a donate button.
There are processing fees that we cover for these donations, but we wanted to offer listeners a seamless way to share their finances with us when we share our content with them. So just visit thesavvysauce.com and find the donate page under the tab support. Another way to find it is simply type in donate to the search bar on our website and just click the first picture shown. We are all about sharing around here, sharing resources, sharing joy, and sharing the good news about Jesus Christ. We ask that you also will share by sharing financially, sharing The Savvy Sauce podcast episodes, and sharing a five-star rating and review. You can also share any of our social media posts on Instagram or Facebook.
We are grateful for all of it, and we just love partnering together with you.
Now, back to the show. And Hanisi, your story continues. You then crossed paths with Midwest Food Bank and Spread Truth, and the founder of Midwest Food Bank has been on The Savvy Sauce before, so I'll link to that episode in the show notes. But how did your paths initially cross?
Hamisi Kirenga: (23:15 - 24:19)
I served for 20 years as a missions and youth pastor in a church called Ridgewood Baptist Church. And as I was making an appeal in church one day concerning the drought that has been ongoing in Kenya for a long time, and being the missions pastor, we were looking to get more food to take to people as we were doing our mission work. And Ralph Endress, David Keezer, and Danny Mott were seated in the congregation. When they heard us making the appeal, we connected after a while and said, we can do something. And that is when our paths crossed, and that was in 2015. And when our paths crossed, we started distributing food that was donated to us through Midwest Food Bank and their division in Africa called Kapu.
And later on, David Keezer, Ralph Endress, and Danny Mott decided to invite me to come and see Midwest in Bloomington in 2017. And that is when I came to Midwest Food Bank and connected with Spread Truth, and that's another story altogether.
Laura Dugger: (24:21 - 24:37)
Well, and I'd love to hear that story now, because you are currently the director of Spread Truth Africa. So, let's just go back. What were you doing before Spread Truth, and how did God then bring you into this current position?
Hamisi Kirenga: (24:38 - 27:50)
It's interesting, Laura, because having spent almost 20 years in church, God was like telling me, it's high time now you go out. I didn't know how. I was comfortable, because Rejoice Baptist is a good church, and I would recommend anyone to go there. It's a beautiful church, good worship. And I was feeling like, how can I go? This is the only church that I've known. But the Lord sent one of my youth, who is a lawyer. She had a dream, and the Lord spoke to her very clearly. And she told me in one of the meetings one day in the office, is that the Lord is telling me that there will be a ministry I will serve outside Kenya.
This ministry is in overseas, and God has been speaking to me about getting out of the church, and it's something that I'm familiar with. So, I told her to write it down as an email. And this young lady who is a lawyer wrote it down on email and sent it to me. I still have the email even today. So, when I came to Bloomington, and I saw Spread Truth and what they are doing, little did I know Ralph Endres and David Keyes have been talking about having Spread Truth in Africa. And when I came on board, I didn't know it was part of the interview somehow. I did not know that. I remember I went into Jerry's office, and I felt strongly again, like I mentioned earlier in my testimony, the Lord speaks to me in an audible voice.
And right there in the office in 2017 November, the Lord spoke to me and He told me, this is what I want you to do, take Spread Truth in Africa. I did not know how. I was still the Youth and Missions Pastor in Rejoice Baptist by then. So, I did not know how I'm going to do this, but the Lord said, I will show you how. I remember I went to a Thanksgiving trip, and I sat with Jerry and I sat with Ralph. I'll bet you know that this is a conversation also they've had about having Spread Truth in Africa, but they didn't tell me. And so, the Thanksgiving trip turned out to be an interview. I did not know. And to cut the long story short, I told them that I would like to take Spread Truth in Africa, and they were like, wow, this is exactly.
I showed them the email from one of our youth who had spoken to me that the Lord wants me out of Rejoice and wants me to be able to serve in an organization to reach more youth and more people in Africa. I did not know how. And so, when I reached Bloomington, I figured out Spread Truth will be that vehicle. But it wasn't even then very clear, but the Lord had already started speaking. And so, when they invited me again, Spread Truth for the summer camps in New York, I saw everything that they were doing, and I felt I can do the same in Kenya. And we took Spread Truth in Kenya in 2018, and it was such a big success to reach thousands of people in Nairobi and the churches that came together.
And the government of Kenya, that is why Roy is here, came together in 2018. And ever since, it has been miracle after miracle. And I've enjoyed and I felt alive being in this position to be able to get Spread Truth in Africa. And Midwest Food Bank was so instrumental through Ralph, David Kiza, and Demi Mott to be able to see Spread Truth in Africa.
Laura Dugger: (27:51 - 28:18)
Wow, I love hearing how all of you were praying at the same time and God used each of you to answer one another's prayers. And Roy, this is where you entered the story as well. So, Roy, you are the Chief Executive Officer at the National Government Affirmative Action Fund in Kenya. Will you share some ways that the government of Kenya has partnered now with Midwest Food Bank and Spread Truth?
Roy Sasaka Telewa: (28:19 - 33:18)
Thank you so much, Laura. I must say I've been blessed listening to my brother. He's my brother because we've walked the journey together and sharing his testimony inspires all of us. As you've said, my name is Roy Sasakatelewa. I'm the CEO of the National Government Affirmative Action Fund of Kenya. But when I talk about this partnership, it's good to mention where it all began. And this current role I'm holding is just one month old. So, I'll go back to where it all began. I had just been newly appointed as the CEO of the National Youth Council of Kenya. And these are government agencies that champions youth agenda in the country. So, it's huge, big mandate. And you're the president of the young people.
And you know, in Africa, the challenges facing young people are so many. Young people are battling unemployment. They are battling drugs and substance abuse. They are battling issues of inclusivity. They don't feel that they have been included enough or that they are not participating enough in everything that is happening. So, there is always that gap that this is, despite being the majority, actually, they feel that they are marginalized. And that has been ongoing. And therefore, an institution like the National Youth Council of Kenya, the mandate is to make sure that the young people across the country are being included, are participating, and they are feeling part of the social development in the country.
So yes, I'm just newly in the ministry. And yes, we have Spirit Truth. It is coming and starting its operations in Kenya, in Africa. So of course, the very first thing is that I'm a believer, I'm a Christian. So, I can allude very well with the mandate and the purpose and the objects of Spirit Truth Africa. So, we are like, okay, why can't we not have a partnership? And you see, in Kenya, the Kenyan government, we really forge for strategic partnerships. And we are discussing and we're having meetings on how can we strategically partner with Spirit Truth so that then the young people of Kenya can benefit from what Spirit Truth is doing. And that is how our relationship goes back to Spirit Truth Africa.
So, we partner and we look at the areas of collaboration we are looking at. How do we make sure that young people are engaging in sporting activities? So, we partner in sports activities. How do we ensure that the young people have a safe space to discuss about the challenges they are facing across the country? So, we partner in a program, a unique incision program called Kikau. And then I think when you look at the bigger challenges that the young people are facing, it's also in terms of drought. So then how do we partner in terms of making sure that these young people can access nutrition? And we are talking about very unique segments of young people. We are talking about pregnant women who are young people and have no source of livelihood.
And they are living in informal settlement slums and they go hungry. We are talking about lactating mothers who have not seen food for many days, and they have no milk to give to the young ones. So, we target and say, can we then have a partnership in terms of making food accessible to this group? And that's how through Spirit Truth we engage with Midwest Food Bank. So, then it becomes a 360 kind of intervention. We are having an intervention where young people can access food, can access potting, and not just nutritious food, can access potting, can access a safe space to discuss about the challenges they are facing. And that's how now the infusion brings about impact.
Now, how do we solidify this relationship to make sure that then it's protected and we have a longer time in terms of the relationship? Then the next thing that we do, which was a big thing that we did, is to sign a memorandum of understanding, which we normally call an MOU between now Spirit Truth Africa and the National Government of Kenya. And we signed it in 2018, and now that lays out a framework of cooperation between these two organizations.
I know it's unique when it comes to government partnering with a faith-based organization, but I believe sometimes when believers have an opportunity to lead, and I think these have been challenged also from Mhamisi, is that you need to create a temple of where you are serving, where other believers can get access and not only believers, because when you look at the kind of partnership we do, we don't discriminate whether you are a believer, but the kind of partnership allows us to meet all young people across the religious divide, unique religious divide, but also allows Spirit Truth a unique platform to minister the word of gospel.
So that then, if we have many believers, we thank God, because that is the mission of Spirit Truth, and that's how we infuse in our partnership, to make sure that we're impacting the lives of many other young people across the country.
Laura Dugger: (33:19 - 33:29)
So, you're providing nutrition to all of these people through Midwest Food Bank, but you also have the opportunity to nourish their souls by sharing your goodies.
Roy Sasaka Telewa: (33:29 - 33:30)
You got it so right, Laura.
Laura Dugger: (33:31 - 33:43)
That's an incredible partnership, and it was so unique that the two of you really came together during COVID. So, will you tell us about the miracles you witnessed during that unique season?
Hamisi Kirenga: (33:44 - 35:09)
I will say we call it the COVID miracle. When no one was moving around and people were scared of the virus, Roy reached out and said, “We need to do something.” And the partnership with the government helped us quite a lot, because there's a government that said no one should move. Even churches were closed. So, churches were closed. I remember the planes. I mean, no one was flying, because they would say the disease doesn't move. It is people who move with the disease. And that is when we came together, and this relationship was strengthened. And in a way, it was a miracle, because we did not know COVID was coming in 2019 when we did the MOU.
If we never had the MOU with the government, which is the Memorandum of Understanding, we would not have moved in the country, because no one was supposed to move. It was a directive from the government. But because of our relationship, we were able to move to over 30 counties within the Republic. And we served thousands of people, and we saw so many come to know Jesus Christ. And we had so many touching stories of people who needed someone to just reach out to them. Someone to be brave enough to say, you know, God loves you. And that is what the relationship was founded upon. Founded upon this miracle during COVID that even Laura will tell you, none of us at that point got sick, and we met hundreds and thousands of people.
Laura Dugger: (35:10 - 35:25)
Wow. So, at a time when the country was on lockdown, because of your partnership with government, you were given permission, Hamisi, to lead these, and this is where you still shared the gospel with thousands of people.
Hamisi Kirenga: (35:25 - 36:32)
Yes. And like you've seen, in this partnership with the government, we've distributed over 800 tons of food and 10 million meals. That's a lot. And to see 5,700 people come to know Jesus, that has been a blessing to us. And the partnership was actually confirmed by God it was a good thing during the COVID, because none of us knew COVID was coming. I was in the U.S. just days before COVID was announced. I had to be whisked out because the country was shutting down and even our country, we were putting measures, and I got home in 2020 when COVID was hitting everywhere in the world. And that is when Roy, we sat together and said, no, people are hurting. How do we reach out to them?
And because of the government, the government allowed us to meet even more than 10 people, because the government had put a restriction not more than 10 people should gather, and we met hundreds and hundreds of people, and we led hundreds and hundreds of people to Christ. It's because of the partnership, and we thank God that God had already seen that and allowed us to come together.
Laura Dugger: (36:33 - 36:57)
That's so encouraging to hear the Lord's provision. And there is a gap of timing between today when we're presently recording and then when this conversation will be released, but Kenya is currently experiencing the worst drought in over 40 years. And you sent a team to an area in northwest Kenya called Turkana.
Hamisi Kirenga: (36:58 - 36:58)
Yes.
Laura Dugger: (36:59 - 37:01)
What did your team experience there?
Hamisi Kirenga: (37:01 - 38:44)
Love her. When you talk about drought and giving food, there was a lady during the pandemic who shared with us a story of how she was boiling stones to deceive the children that there was food being cooked because they have not had food for a long time. And the reason she was sharing is because she wanted to tell a thank you for the food because now she can go and cook a meal. This lady was actually boiling stone to deceive children that there is food coming. You know, when something is cooking in the kitchen, the children will hear that sound and fall asleep because there was no food. And it was during COVID. And now to transition to that, even before COVID, Kenya had already had a drought that was ongoing. So, COVID just exacerbated that.
And then now we are back to square one where the drought now has become bad. A place like Turkana, they have not seen rain for over five or six years. And that is when now just recently, I believe a week or two ago, we were able to take 17 tons in this particular region. And Roy probably can expound more on the needs on that ground and how that food was so timely because we added F75, some supplements. Because some of the people have stayed for too long without eating that they cannot eat normal food. They need supplements first before they could even eat food. And this drought, sad to say, may appear like it will even get worse. You can imagine, Laura, five years without rain in a place.
And then Roy can probably say more in regard to Turkana.
Roy Sasaka Telewa: (38:44 - 44:30)
Okay, Laura, I think my perspective of Turkana is that these are pastoralist communities. Now when you look at the life of pastoralist communities is that their major focus is actually raising and taking care of cattle. And this also is related to some of the conflicts that have been there within that communities. They always move with their cattle in search of pastures. So, when there is drought, it's a source of conflict because now where do you get the grazing for the cattle? And even before we addressed the drought is that that caused a lot of frictions between these pastoralist communities.
And we had experienced a lot of loss of life because they could fight each other, they could kill each other, and the only source of all this conflict was because of the scarce resources. Now it's either you're fighting for cattle itself, stealing from each other, or you're fighting for the gracing lands. So, for very many years these are areas where even the government itself considered no goes on. And even before we went to Turkana, one of the key areas that we visited was actually a valley called Kerio Valley. Now this is an area where there is so much fighting amongst tribal conflicts because of cattle.
And even before we moved there with our partners Brettooth and Midwest Foodbank, it is because of the heightened level of killings the government had already declared a curfew and cessation of movement in that area. But I want to believe it's because of God's doing and because of the partnership. We were able to go there. I was even telling my friend Hermisi and I was just, it was on a light note but very seriously, have you written a will for you to have access to such an area? Because nobody is going there. This is an area where just a few months or one year ago a hundred police officers had been killed by the cattle raiders. A hundred police officers, Lord, killed all of them.
This is a place where when police are moving they can just be attacked anywhere. You can just be ambushed and killed. So, it's an area where even when you're going in you need to have a lot of security, but you're not guaranteed of your safety. You are going there knowing that anything can happen at any time. But I believe because of this strategic partnership we were able to go there. We were able to reach over 3,000 young people in that area. And we were able to bring the warring communities who don't face each other. The only moment they face each other is war and whoever wins takes the cattle with them. And we were able to bring the two of them to play football together.
So, I think I've also seen that this partnership has brought amazing impact that cannot be measured at all. Now fast forward to Turkana which happened just a few days before we came here. It's one of the pastoralist communities and now there had been no water and no rain for the last five years. And it was a very pathetic area and very pathetic scenario. And it's very pathetic in such a way that everybody is helpless including the government itself. I'm part of government but we're helpless because you look at what is happening in the news and you wonder whether it's part of your country that you're living in or it's another country all the same. Because you see people falling, walking and falling down and dying because of starvation.
You see people looking like they are so old but it's because they have not had meals for a very long time. So, when our teams moved in to address the scenario and this is thanks to the food we received, the experience they had on ground was humbling where you find somebody that has been hungry for so many days, they are actually giving in to starvation. They are giving in and that's why Amis was mentioning that even you've brought food but you can't offer them food because they are at a very critical stage that you need maybe a supplement or a sugar supplement just to resuscitate them to a situation where they can't even have that food that you've delivered. And I know that the impact that was felt by the community was overwhelming.
And that explains why our team did not just go alone. They had to go with medical doctors. You could see the pictures, you could see the experience and you wonder how do these people live and for how long will these people live. So, this is a shout out and just thanks to our partners that the impact that you're doing you may be so many miles far from Kenya. You may be so many days far from that area because that area alone in Turkana is like a three days drive to Turkana and then another one day to reach actually the areas we were targeting. So, you may be so far but the impact you're having so many miles away is actually not only giving life to a community but is actually ministering the gospel as well to these people.
Because you can imagine resuscitating such a person and then now telling them that it's Jesus because that is purely God's doing. And that somebody experiences God at the very first sight when they were almost giving in to death. They experience God bringing them back. And I think I believe that is the reason why Spreytruth has had a very key impact in bringing men to Jesus.
Hamisi Kirenga: (44:31 - 46:47)
If I could just interject, Roy mentioned the story of the old man which was one of our highlights. This gentleman was close to 70 years. He's not had food. He was staring death. And unfortunately, old people when there is drought suffer the most. And our medical doctors, they had to inject glucose through a drip. They discovered that this man was not sick because he was laying down and basically looking like it was a major disease only to find out it was actually food. And they were able to give him glucose immediately to give him energy because they did a medical assessment. And later on, they gave him the F-75 so that they can be able now to start eating. And the gentleman by the time they were leaving, he was walking.
And the pictures are there and the videos to show. And they were able to save one life. And that speaks very well like Roy has said. Jesus will leave the 99 and go for that one. And I want to say thank you to the people that make this possible. And the other story was there were these children. Many of them were extremely malnourished. And what we call in medical terms severe malnourished. There is acute then there is severe malnourished. The severely malnourished children, you cannot give them food when you take food. And that is why for us even having the doctors, they could identify that. And that was a decision that was made last minute as we were going there that we could not just take food alone.
And that was a decision made by Midwest Food Bank and I want to say thank you to them. They were able to provide for us the supplements. And many of the children you could see in the pictures that are there. You could see how severely malnourished they are. And how excited the food. Not a better way to speak the gospel than to be able to take care of the needs of the people. And we thank God we could share stories. And our team was devastated. Even our own team, they have never seen such devastation. And they were there loving on these children. Loving on this community. And we want to say thank you again to the partnership with the government.
Thank you to the partnership with Midwest to be able to touch lives far away in the continent of Africa.
Laura Dugger: (46:48 - 48:31)
And let me see that just brings to mind Matthew 10 42 and I'll just read it in the King James version. “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water, only in the name of a disciple. Verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.” And so very really and practically when you are offering those supplements to people you are offering them to Jesus.
Did you know that this podcast is 100% listener supported? We love producing free content that's available to everyone around the world with our monthly newsletters when you sign up for our email list. And with our weekly episodes we pray that this has been a benefit to you.
That if any episode has ever impacted you, what we ask is that you will partner with us now and generously and prayerfully give financially before the end of the year. There's multiple ways to do this online at thesavvysauce.com You can donate through Stripe or PayPal or Venmo with just a simple click or you can send snail mail to us at Savvy Sauce Charities PO Box 101, Roanoke, Illinois 61561. We hope you choose to support us today.
And I'm just assuming that the two of you have seen even more incredible God stories over the past several years. So, in addition to what you've both already shared, are there any other specific ones that come to mind?
Hamisi Kirenga: (48:32 - 54:08)
This story just recently what Roy talked about there were these two warring tribes the Pokot and the Marakwet. And they've been fighting because of their cattle and pasture because of the drought. The Marakwet have the lush and the fertile side. The Pokot are the ones who are in the semi-arid condition. And they're the ones who keep a lot of cattle. And so sometimes they will want their cattle because like Roy said, “their cattle is their everything. Their cows mean everything.” In fact, Laura, they would rather die fast than their cows dying fast. Because their cows are their bank accounts. They don't save their money in accounts. They buy cows so it's their livelihood.
Out of their cows they get milk, they get the hide, they get everything they need. And therefore, if their cows die that means their lives are over. And so, they will fight each other because of the grazing land which is becoming scarce and the number of cows are increasing. And so, when we were going there to bring peace, because like Roy said, it's a dangerous area. In fact, Roy kept on calling me at night to ask me, are you serious about it? Have you written a will? Because this is no joke we were getting ourselves into. We took time before even we made a decision. But we agreed with him, let's go. It's actually like a whole day journey to that place down the valley. It's a remote place.
And as we were getting to a small town, to me the miracle that happened, as we got into a small town before we could get down to the valley, downhill, as we were refueling, because when you get down to the valley there's no petrol station like we do have. It's basically a bush. And so, we needed to make sure our vehicles are filled with gas. And as we were filling our vehicles with gas, it was 8 at night. It was dark. And there was an old man that came to the window of my car. I was the one driving the car. And my team members were there, Kim, Ken, and Vanessa. And as they sat in the car as I was fueling, an old man came and he started speaking to me. And he had white hair. He looked very old. And he said, “young man, you must be tired.”
I told him, “Yes.” And then he told me, “Where are you going?” I told him, “I'm going down the valley.” He said, “What are you going to do?” I said, “We're going to do A, B, C.” And he said, “Don't worry. God is going to grant you success.” And He's already gone ahead of you. And he said, “You must be hungry.” I told him, “Yes.” So he left the car and he went and he picked a piece of corn. And he brought it. It was roasted corn. In Kenya, we do roast corn. And we love it. But he brought this corn. And it was amazing in Kenya because old people ask you for money. But him, he bought the corn. And he gave it to me. And I divided it in our team members. And it was the sweetest corn we've ever had. And I remember my team member called Kim.
He said, “We need to get more corn.” So, he left. It was late at night. He left the car. And he started looking for the corn. He couldn't find it. And we said, by the way, where did he get this corn late at night?” And anyway, we left that story. We didn't even think about it. And then the old man, I still remember his words. He said, “Son, whatever you're going to do there, you will succeed. God has gone ahead of you.” But as we go down the valley, Laura, you'll see this in pictures we can share with you and videos. It started raining in the Pocot side and in the Marrakech. Remember, it has not had rain for a long time. It rained heavily the whole night.
And the Pocot who live in the dry area started clapping and celebrating that we are messengers of God because we brought rain. But I was not happy. In fact, I talked with Roy. I told Roy, now our mission will die because we cannot pitch tents, we cannot play soccer, we cannot bring the pastors together because the rain, Laura, was heavy. I mean, we could not access the area. And I felt so defeated. But guess what? The Pocots were celebrating this is from God. And one of the ladies called Lina calls me and tells me, “We've actually have made the Pocots happy that we are messengers of God because they knew we were coming for events. And that has given us access to them because they believe that this is God's doing.”
And as we went there, the rain subsided the following day. I remember Roy was on his way. He brought me gumboots, you know gumboots? Because he could feel we could not do mission. But guess what? The following day the rain had stopped. And our mission was successful. And God was with us. As I was having dinner with Roy and the team, I told Roy, “Roy, there was an old man, in fact it was Kim who said, you remember that old man who said you'll succeed?” I said, “Yes.” And then Roy said, “That was an angel of God.” And for me, to be able even to see the rain, everyone said they have never seen such rain. It was an indication that God is with us. And for me that was humbling because who doesn't want to know whatever you do, God is with you.
That you don't do things out of flesh and blood and that the Holy Spirit has gone ahead of us. And it was one of the most successful missions we've had. And they never fought, they never disagreed. We brought the two tribes together; we brought the pastors together and I believe even today there is impact. And 203 people gave their life to Christ.
Laura Dugger: (54:09 - 55:13)
Amen. Thank you for sharing that story. You're just bringing so much Scripture to life, and I believe it's in 2 Chronicles where what that angel prophesied over you was spoken in Scripture. And so, I'm just going to read from 2 Chronicles 20:17 and this time in the NIV. It says, “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions. Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you. Judah and Jerusalem, do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow and the Lord will be with you.” And its similar passages in other areas that it says all you need to do is stand still. The Lord already has won the battle for you. And then one more Scripture in Hebrews 13:2 because Hamisi you're just sharing exactly how real the Lord's word is when he says, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
Hamisi Kirenga: (55:13 - 55:17)
Wow. For us we believe that was an angel.
Laura Dugger: (55:18 - 55:18)
I do too.
Hamisi Kirenga: (55:18 - 55:37)
I mean we could not get that corn. It was the sweetest corn we've ever had. And to hear him speak the words and Roy will tell you it's not common to go into a town in Kenya an old man buys you something the other way around. So, thank you.
Laura Dugger: (55:38 - 55:49)
Well, gentlemen, if we are inspired to support your work after hearing this conversation what next step would you recommend we take after concluding this episode today?
Hamisi Kirenga: (55:50 - 57:00)
I will say number one you pray for us because this work with the government as we work together Roy has said the need is great and we need your prayers even for our staff and our team as they move around. They need the safety they need to be in good health and we need to be able to do God's will ultimately that which will bring you glory. But the second thing we really need your support in terms of whatever can be done. For us at Spread Truth we have our website and our Facebook page. There is support there you can go and donate whatever can be donated and www.spreadtruth.com is the website.
But also the other thing I think we like the most is to see our activities on our social media handles. Roy can share his and I can share mine so that it keeps you up to date and how you can plug in and hopefully come to Kenya because not only do we need your prayer not only do we need your provision support, we also need your presence one day you can come to Kenya and be part of this. Roy you can share maybe anything else?
Roy Sasaka Telewa: (57:01 - 57:30)
I think my brother Hamisi has put it very rightly that this is something we are doing together and we thank you for extending your partnership with us and I've always said thank you so much because you are miles away but you are impacting so many lives far in a very far continent somewhere. So, mine is just to say thank you for even considering to be part of this mission of Spread Truth in actually spreading the gospel.
Hamisi Kirenga: (57:30 - 57:56)
Even the social media handles you can actually check our work is for Spread Truth is Spread Truth Africa but also Spread Truth is the US Ministry but if you want to donate or give you can go to www.spreadtruth.org that's where you can donate or you can donate to Midwest Food Bank that is www.midwestfoodbank.org that is www.midwestfoodbank.org
Laura Dugger: (57:56 - 58:13)
Well I've very much enjoyed my time with both of you and you may know that our podcast is called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge or discernment or insight and so as my final question for both of you today what is your Savvy Sauce?
Roy Sasaka Telewa: (58:14 - 59:28)
Yes thank you so much Laura and I will draw mine through a quote that is very profound and that has really shaped me. The quote is on it starts about every generation has a mission and it's for the generation to find the mission and to deliver the mission or to betray the mission in itself. And I believe as the generation that we are living now, every generation had its purpose. There is a generation that discovered America, there is a generation that discovered Kenya and living right now I think my service and my question is what will we be remembered for? What is it that we leave behind that the generation that will come after us will look at it and say look here this generation delivered this and I believe every generation has a unique purpose to serve and I believe for me that through this service we've identified our mission and I believe that together we'll deliver on our mission.
Laura Dugger: (59:28 - 59:34)
Thank you Roy, appreciate that and Hamisi what is your Savvy Sauce?
Hamisi Kirenga: (59:35 - 1:00:08)
I will say mine is in Philippians chapter 1 verse 6 Be confident of this that he who has begun the good work in you will surely carry it to completion. This was a verse that when I gave my life to Christ, I needed to hear this because God cannot abandon that which he has started and God has started a good work in my life when I was at a young age of 14 and I've never seen him abandoning me and I look forward one day to be able to see Christ in heaven.
Laura Dugger: (1:00:09 - 1:00:17)
Well said and I admire you both so much and just really appreciate your time. Thank you for being my guest today.
Hamisi Kirenga: (1:00:17 - 1:00:21)
Thank you so much Laura. Laura what's your savvy sauce?
Roy Sasaka Telewa: (1:00:23 - 1:00:30)
Exactly. Exactly. What's your savvy sauce Laura? It's only fair to turn it on from the other side. Yeah and it has to be recorded as well.
Laura Dugger: (1:00:32 - 1:04:34)
My savvy sauce is Matthew 6:33 “but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” I pray that he empowers me every day to live that in our family as well. In Jesus name. Thank you.
One more thing before you go, have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you, but it starts with the bad news.
Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death, and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.
We need a savior, but God loved us so much. He made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.
That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life. We could never live and died in our place for our sin.
This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished. If we choose to receive what he has done for us, Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
So, you pray with me now. Heavenly father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you.
Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life? We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus name we pray.
Amen. If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me. So, me for him, you get the opportunity to live your life for him.
And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you're ready to get started.
First, tell someone, say it out loud, get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes and Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it.
You can start by reading the book of John. Also get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.
We want to celebrate with you too. So, feel free to leave a comment for us here. If you did make a decision to follow Christ, we also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process.
And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.
And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.
Welcome to The Savvy Sauce
Practical chats for intentional living
A faith-based podcast and resources to help you grow closer to Jesus and others. Expect encouragement, surprises, and hope here. Each episode offers lively interviews with fascinating guests such as therapists, authors, non-profit founders, and business leaders.
They share their best practices and savvy tips we can replicate to make our daily life and relationships more enjoyable!
Related Episodes
