Rejoice!

Mark Tarus (in green), giving Mama Chiri the graduation certificate to present to her husband

Today was truly a day of celebration. One after another, graduating members of the Kenya Anti-Alcohol group walked up and praised God for the transformation in their lives. They then asked family members to come up, and publicly asked forgiveness for how they had acted in the past, or how they had treated them. Many tears rolled. Many hugs were exchanged.

What struck me most about the day was that of the 18 graduates, more than half were women. Until now, ELI has not offered rehab for women due to housing shortages. But since the rehab program has moved to our training center, we could also accommodate ladies. And they came. Many of them were brewers who were also addicted to drinking. Many of them apologized for ruining other people's lives through brewing.

ELI's KAA staff: Mark, Francis, Wilson and Stone. All four men have powerful testimonies of how God delivered them from alcoholism, and have devoted their lives to bringing that Hope to others

What struck me was how many of the graduates--the women, especially--were from our neighborhood, in an area where ELI recently started doing outreach. Realizing how many alcoholics there were (and no churches), ELI started doing Saturday-afternoon rallies at The Rock. Several of the brewers attested today that they simply couldn't make good brew any more since ELI came and prayed there. Praise God!

Each one of the 18 represents many, many stories, and each one truly is a miracle. Two that stand out for me are Jesire and Joseph. I wrote about Joseph (Baba Chiri) on my personal blog earlier this week. Jesire has strong ties to this community: His younger brother (David) is our director. For as long as David can remember, Jesire was a drunkard. Today, his mother stood up and preached, encouraging others to keep praying.

Jesire, asking David forgiveness

For each of the graduates, the true test begins. Today, they returned to their communities. For many, people at home will truly rejoice. But they'll also be watching them closely to see if they'll stumble again. ELI's anti-alcohol program has a success rate of 80%. That's how many of our graduates stay sober. It's a very high percentage, compared to typical rehab programs. The reason? Our graduates are taught that they cannot conquer the disease of alcoholism in their own strength. Jesus Christ is the "higher power" who can help them.

Please join us in praying for each and every one of the men and women to remain strong, and to be able to be a strong witness in their communities to the work God has done.

Empowered Lives: Paul Sigilai

Paul Sigilai was born in 1961 into a polygamist family. Sigilai’s dad rarely had time for the children. While in elementary school, Paul lived with his mother. However, by the time he went to high school in 1978, he moved in with his father and an angry stepmother.

Paul was seeking encouragement and companionship, and he found it in a group of friends. Sadly, these friends also introduced him to cigarettes and alcohol. By the time he completed high school in 1980, Paul was an alcoholic. He got a job as a technician with Kenya Telecommunication Company and stayed with this company for 10 years. But the stress of his alcohol addiction made it unbearable for him to continue his job. He chose to retire.

Barely thirty years old, Sigilai started squandering his retirement money, mostly on alcohol. In 2003, his wife kicked him out. A year later, he returned to her, promising to change. The change was always short-lived. Paul couldn’t stay sober for more than 2 months until he’d succumb to alcohol once again. After his son prayed for him and begged his father to quit drinking, Sigilai was able to stay sober for 6 months. But once again, he was overcome by his addiction.

Paul hit rock bottom, and wanted to take his life. God brought a friend named Samson across Paul’s path. Samson had just recently graduated from ELI’s Drug and Alcohol Rehab Program, and he convinced his friend that he would find the tools to do the same if he’d check into rehab.

If you’d ask Sigilai what’s different this time around, he’d tell you that he’s no longer trying to win the battle on his own. God is by his side. Sigilai quotes John 14:6 as his life verse. Since he know knows Jesus, he has faith that Jesus will continue to lead him in truth and in life. And that includes a day-to-day victory over his alcohol addiction.

Paul is looking forward to seeing his son over Easter break so they can celebrate together how God had answered the boy’s prayers.