An Interview with Pastor Isaiah

Meet Pastor Isaiah. He has been a pastor since 2009 and graduated from the Lutheran Seminary here in Kenya. He works with Capstone Ministries to provide spiritual care for the more than 270 families that Capstone works with on a continuous basis. He organizes Bible studies every week for the parents who have children who have run away and have been rescued from the streets by Capstone. He also visits families at home to help rescued children stay home long-term and develop into grounded, productive and spiritual healthy young men. On the weekends he also serves as the associate pastor at the Cathedral Lutheran Church in Kisumu. The following is an interview with Isaiah in which he talks about Capstone from his own experience and work.

Where do you come from (region and tribe)?

I am from the Luo tribe. I grew up in Nyanza, which is the province that the city of Kisumu is located in and near lake Victoria.

How many brothers/sisters?

I have two brothers and one sister.

How many children do you have?

My wife is Sophy and we have one child. His name is Daniel. My wife's sister died and we also take care of her children. Their names are Dazy and Steve.

What church do you belong to?

I am an associate pastor at Cathedral Lutheran Church in Kisumu. I preach, teach Bible studies and Confirmation. I work mostly with the youth and teach Sunday School occasionally.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like to write. I write poems and plays. I also like to play soccer and watch it.

What brought you to Capstone?

I knew Dan and Patty from church. They shared what they do at Capstone and after realizing my talent for working with the children, they asked me to work with them. There was interest on both sides. I have a passion to work with children.

How long have your worked for Capstone?

I have worked with Capstone the longest. I started back in 2009.

What is your role at Capstone?

I am a welfare officer, but also coordinate spiritual development. I make sure that families have the Word of God shared with them and that their children have been taught the catechism. I perform baptisms and coordinate eight local Bible studies for families that have had their street children rescued and returned to them. The Bible studies are great because they help prevent problems in families before they arise and provide support from the community.

What good is Capstone doing in your community?

Growing up in Kisumu, I can definitely tell that Capstone is making a great difference. With families, God is using Capstone to restore and reconcile them with their lost children. Families are being made stronger. When families are stronger, then society is stronger and our churches are stronger. We would have no society without strong families. We are helping lost children come to Christ, which is our ultimate goal. The children are our future.

What do you like about Capstone (or why do you work for Capstone)?

I have a passion to work with the youth. I also like the way Capstone is organized. It almost runs itself. We have grown a lot since I began working here and everyone works together.

What is the hardest part of your specific job?

Working with street children is a challenge. It is a joy to take them home and reunite them with their families, but it is very difficult to spend all that effort and then see them run away again. I have to see it positively like preaching. Some people who hear God's Word backslide. Some receive Christ and with time backslide and fall away. Street children also have a tendency to regress back to their old behaviors.

What is the most rewarding part of your specific job?

Personally, it is rewarding to see a child who is lost, found and going home. He will have a brighter future than being left on the street. Through Capstone, children know Christ and go back to school. They are reunited with their families who love them.

What is poverty?

Sure it is the inability to access basic needs. Families don't have shelter, food or health care, but this is not the entire problem. In a happy and healthy home a child will stay, despite lacking these things. There is usually a spiritual brokenness with their relationship with God that effects the whole person and the rest of the relationships. There also are psychological problems to deal with as well.

How can the poor be helped (or poverty alleviated)?

The only way that the poor can be helped is through empowerment, not through handouts. One mistake that so many organizations make when they come to Africa and try to help is that they give handouts. What poor people really need is empowerment like the knowledge of how to start a small business. It is better to give a hand up than a hand out.

Any other comments or advice?

Working with Capstone is very rewarding, especially because I feel called by God to be here. A personal call by God is required because the work can be frustrating at times. Every day we take risks. The roads in Kenya are not good. The drivers are very bad. The streets are dangerous. If you have not been called to do this work you can easily get frustrated, but you have to look at the bigger picture. I am called by God to bring Christ to children and to spread the Kingdom of God. What keeps me going is that every day God uses me to touch someone's life. Today, I am bring a catechism and a Bible to a child and his family so that they can know Christ. I would like to welcome you [Joel] and Jennifer here. I hope that you learn a lot and won't be frustrated too. The Lord is our banner.