July 4th is a special day to remember the independence of the USA, but it also marks the day Kelly and I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, to begin our missionary work. It was July 4, 2008. I was 25 years old, and Kelly was 26. We had been married just over a year. It truly feels like it was just yesterday. I want to document a few things that led me to the mission field in Kenya and what happened after we arrived.
What Led Me to the Mission Field
During high school, our youth pastor, Mark Williams, challenged me and my fellow juniors and seniors to take our relationship with God seriously. I particularly remember his “5 out of 5” sermon, which had a profound impact on me and my friends. Although I don’t recall the exact points, he emphasized five things that growing Christians do. He then asked us how many of these five things a Christian who truly treasures Jesus would practice. I thought to myself that I did two or three of those things and loved Jesus, so it must be two or three. But Pastor Mark firmly stated, “5 out of 5.” That hit me to the core, and I realized I wasn’t as serious about my faith as I should be. From that moment on, I began to grow more serious about my relationship with Jesus as I entered my senior year of high school.
When I attended Florida State University, I joined a Bible study at the Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) as a freshman. I witnessed the juniors and seniors in the Bible study sincerely treasuring Christ. While I had seen my youth pastor and other adults do so, this was the first time I had seen my peers genuinely treasuring Him. Their passion was contagious, and it was during my freshman year in college that I started reading my Bible seriously and praying daily. I began to deeply treasure Christ.
In my sophomore year, I went on a mission trip to Kenya with Global Youth Ministry (GYM), my first mission organization. That trip changed my worldview and allowed me to see people in another culture, country, and continent treasuring Christ with all their hearts. This experience planted the seeds for my desire to be a missionary in Kenya.
By my senior year in college, I felt a clear calling to missions and full-time ministry. The passion for the Jesus that I had spilled over to where I desired to go to the nations. GYM offered me the opportunity to become a missionary in Kenya, where I could help others treasure Christ. After graduating from FSU, Kelly and I got married and moved to GYM’s headquarters for 1.5 years of training to be missionaries.
Arrival in Kenya
I remember that I didn’t know anyone in Kenya in 2007 or 2008, but I was introduced to a youth pastor named Hamisi Kirenga from Ridgeways Baptist Church (RBC). We exchanged a few emails, and Pastor Hamisi helped us find an apartment to rent and promised to pick us up at the airport. Neither of us had a picture of the other, but we moved forward in faith. Hamisi picked us up along with the children's pastor, Pastor Dan, from RBC. Our flight was three hours late, and communication in Kenya wasn’t as reliable then as it is today. At one point, Pastor Hamisi and Dan thought we might not have arrived and were about to leave the airport, but something compelled them to stay. Upon our arrival, I spotted a sign with our name, “Elmores,” and they took us to the apartment that Pastor Hamisi had arranged for us.
We arrived just before midnight on July 4th, with all our belongings fitting into six suitcases. The apartment was a one-bedroom, one-bathroom space decorated with zebra-print carpets, curtains, bedding, and furniture. To our surprise, we found the place filled with flying termites because it had rained earlier in the day, leaving the windows open, which attracted the termites to the fluorescent lights. Additionally, the shower had a wooden door instead of a shower curtain, and the door was partially molded, which freaked Kelly out. It was quite an experience; we realized we were no longer in Florida. However, we knew God had called us to this new land to help people treasure Him with all their hearts. We fell asleep that night, planning to meet Hamisi and Dan the next morning to go shopping for essentials and learn more about Kenya.
Initially, we had only planned to stay in Kenya for one year, but God had different plans, as we have now been here for 17 years. There’s much more to share about the beginning of our journey, but I praise God for His provision and faithfulness in our mission work. I do not regret this decision; it has been the privilege of my life to know the Lord and serve Him on the mission field in Kenya. My prayer is that many more people will come to know and treasure Christ—not only in Kenya but across the world.
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