The Fifth Annual BereanSafari International Leadership Institute was held at Nyahururu, Kenya June 16-25, 2011. The eighty delegates came from fourteen countries: Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Netherlands, Norway, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, USA, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
A manuscript format of studying a biblical text, developed by Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship-USA, was used. Almost half of the participants were attending for the first time and studied the first half of Mark’s Gospel.
The other delegates studied the second half of the Gospel of Mark, Minor Prophets (Jonah, Amos and Habakkuk), or the section of Genesis that relates the story of Abraham.
In addition to an opening meeting and a closing celebration, each group met for 16 study sessions. The faculty facilitators were from Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and the USA.
Participants took a break from the concentrated study on Thursday. Three busloads travelled to the Lake Nakuru National Park to see animals. The park is famous for its rhinos and flamingos.
Other delegates stayed in Nyahururu to visit friends in the area or to visit Thompson Falls and the Tabor Hills complex.
Tabor Hills Conference Center is self-sustaining and environmentally aware. Solar energy is used for electricity. All of the “gray” water from sinks, showers, kitchen and laundry is used for irrigation. The run off goes through a swamp and into a pond where it seeps back into the earth. The borehole uses a windmill to pump water through a filtration system on its way to the kitchen and sleeping rooms.
The center’s farm provides most of the food served, which including kale, cabbage, tomatoes, corn, lettuce, onions, potatoes, and many other fruits and vegetables. They raise oats to use as fodder for the cows that provided milk for the guests. They also raise rabbits, pigs, and chickens for meat. A coop of hens provides eggs. The kitchen’s stoves use corncobs and firewood from renewable forests as fuel. Most of the bread, rolls, and cakes are baked on site. Tabor Hill’s woodworking shop produces all the tables, chairs, and beds for the center.
The beautiful center grounds are filled with trees and flowers. Roses and other flowering plants line the walkways. The tiled walkways are mopped every morning!
During the two and a half hour break following the afternoon tea, many of the young (and young at heart) enjoyed playing volleyball and other games.
Other participants relaxed on benches and in gazebos scattered across the vast lawns.
The testimonies at the closing ceremony revealed how significant the week of studying had been. Here are some examples:
“Thank God for BereanSafari. I was here last year and was motivated to come back and learn more. I thought people from Ethiopia and Somalia might not know the Word as we Kenyans do. I was amazed by the wisdom and eloquence of my Ethiopian facilitator as he led.”
“My primary reason for coming was to be out of the office. I’d done Manuscript study in a small group, however I couldn’t imagine doing it for a week. It has been very enjoyable and I am sorry that it is over – now I want to continue.”
“Manuscript Bible Study has been a landmark in my life – it has changed my life and my way of looking at things. I thank God for the privilege of coming, even the travel by bus from Malawi.”
“Young people need this. What a difference Manuscript Study would make as they go out for missions and weekend outreach. I have seen that young people can and do study scripture.”
“I am grateful to be here – I am short of words. Thank all of you for this opportunity – I have learned so much”.
“Thank you to the organizing committee for the opportunity given to us to learn and encounter the Word with others. It was refreshing, solemn and sobering.”
“It was a wild and wonderful journey of discovery. Great Fun!”
– Arlene Creitz, Registrar