The global ministry of the Seventh Day Adventist Church began its missions in Africa toward the end of the 19th century.
A strong presence had been established in Southern Africa and it was time to move north. By order of a general conference, a new mission was started led by American Pastor Arthur A. G. Carscallen and Malawian Pastor Peter Nyambo. They were tasked to teach and plant seeds of the Adventist doctrine in East Africa.
Coming To East Africa
The duo arrived in Mombasa in the early 1900s and found the area bustling. Carscallen and Nyambo got on a train and travelled across Kenya to Kisumu where the crystal waters of Lake Victoria welcomed them.
There were a few mission stations set up by other denominations in Kisumu and what they sought was “fresh sounds”. Undeterred, the duo crossed to south Nyanza.
Exploring the new land was no easy feat and an inability to interact with the local communities due to language barriers made the task even more difficult.
Gendia Hill is where it all began
The SDA trio found a suitable location in present Homabay county and the first mission station was set up.
Carscallen liaised with a local businessman who owned a motor boat that helped ferry wood from Kisumu to the mission station site. He and Nyambo built a church and residential houses from these materials, for themselves and any future converts that needed a place to temporarily stay. It was a long shot but worthwhile nonetheless.
In 1903 ministry began
True to his wish, the residential camp attracted few locals who, through continuous exchange, were able to teach Carscallen, his wife Helen (who joined the mission) and Nyambo the local dialect – Luo. This was beneficial in their interaction with the people of south Nyanza.
By 1906 nine Kenyans gave their lives to Christ. As part of their initiation into Christianity, the newly converted were taught to read and write with focus on the bible. When they returned to their communities, more were impressed and set out to the Gendia Mission.
No Gender Limitation
What was of great encouragement was that women were welcome at the station. The first few female converts were taken under Helen’s guidance; educated and thereafter baptized. After baptism, they were free to marry fellow converts who in turn paid greater dowries for their hands.
Ultimately, this worked for the advantage of the SDA mission. More fathers sent their daughters to the mission station. Through that the church established itself. By the mid twenties a printing press had been imported which was used to aid in teaching and printing of the first bibles in Dholuo.
In time, SDA churches sprouted in different parts of Western Kenya and soon after throughout the country.
The mission at Gendia still stands. Now as a church with Bible study held every Wednesday and weekly services on Saturday mornings as part of the Kenya Lake Conference of the SDA.
