First a friend; then a brother!

Our first day spent with Pastor Isaac began with a pleasant surprise. He took us to a barber shop in the Sibanga marketplace and introduced us to Leonard. Then he told us this young man's story. You see, Leonard has a tendency to hang around young men who influence him in negative ways. They keep him out late, he smokes with them, and they persuade him not to attend church. Pastor Isaac pays the rent for the shop in which Leonard works every day cutting hair. That generous gesture gives him less time to "hang around" and enables him to earn some income to support himself. To that end, Ellen took a seat in the barber chair and Leonard gave her a first-class trim! When we left that day, we had made a new friend in Leonard. We assured Leonard that before we left Kenya we would look forward to a conversation with him about his relationship with God. Our last day in Kenya, Pastor Isaac arranged for the four of us to meet in a cafe near the barber shop and we began a conversation which resulted in Leonard telling us he felt it was time for him to commit his life to Christ. He assured us he was making this commitment because he knew it was the right thing to do; not because he wanted to please us. After we prayed with him, Ellen gave Leonard a Bible and Pastor Isaac encouraged him to begin reading the book of John. Leonard promised us he would be in church with Pastor Isaac the following Sunday. Now he is our brother. Praise the Lord!

The barber shop has been Pastor Isaac's vision since we visited Kenya last October. He saw it as a vehicle to enable young people to earn some income and at the same time witness to their customers about the transforming power of Christ in their lives. God has taken that vision to a level Pastor Issac never imagined by using employment at the barber shop to impact the workers as well as the customers.