The Turning Point: A Biography of Bishop Dr. Jefferson Nyatuka

THE TURNING POINT

A Biography of Bishop Dr. Jefferson Nyatuka

REV. SHERRY KAY LIETZ-ZIKA

iUniverse, Inc.

Bloomington

The Turning Point

A Biography of Bishop Dr. Jefferson Nyatuka

Copyright © 2013 by Rev. Sherry Kay Lietz-Zika.

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-8209-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-8211-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-8210-7 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013905361

iUniverse rev. date: 04/04/2013

CONTENTS

References

Acknowledgments

Preface

Chapter 1 Grandma Helen

Chapter 2 Compassion Is Born

Chapter 3 The Hanging

Chapter 4 School Fees

Chapter 5 Londiani

Chapter 6 The Results

Chapter 7 Baba

Chapter 8 Aska Mokonge

Chapter 9 The Field Trip

Chapter 10 Something Like Smallpox

Chapter 11 No More Drinking

Chapter 12 Pauline

Chapter 13 Teaching School

Chapter 14 The Dog Bed

Chapter 15 The Railroad Tracks

Chapter 16 Kiminini

Chapter 17 The Love Jam

Chapter 18 Rejection

Chapter 19 Revival

Chapter 20 Miracles, Signs And Wonders

Chapter 21 The Call To Bible College

Chapter 22 No Place To Go

Chapter 23 Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

Chapter 24 The Snake

Chapter 25 Kayole

Chapter 26 The Waiting Room

Chapter 27 The First Program

Chapter 28 The Toilet

Chapter 29 Fundraising

Chapter 30 A Mighty Spirit

Chapter 31 Bus Fare

Chapter 32 Huruma

Chapter 33 Air Hamburgers

Chapter 34 A Strong Family

Chapter 35 A Season Of Faith

Chapter 36 The Door Of Opportunity

Chapter 37 Florida

Chapter 38 Tennessee

Chapter 39 South Carolina

Chapter 40 The Decision

Chapter 41 A New Kind Of Preaching

Chapter 42 One Lorry Of Stones

Chapter 43 The Miracle House

Chapter 44 The Dead Baby

Chapter 45 Church Growth

Chapter 46 An Audible Voice

Chapter 47 Drunk In The Spirit

Chapter 48 The Pcg Connection

Chapter 49 The Dream

Chapter 50 The Diagnosis

Chapter 51 The Turning Point

Chapter 52 The Ordination

Epilogue

REFERENCES

Scripture quotations were taken from the following Bibles:

The Amplified Bible, 1987, The Zondervan Corporation and the Lockman Foundation.

The Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica.

King James Study Bible, 1988, Liberty University

Women’s Devotional Bible, 1990, The Zondervan Corporation

This Book is dedicated to

The late

Wilson Nyang Weso

1932 to 2007

My eyes were fixed on my feet as I walked along the rough dirt road toward the family homestead in Kisii, Kenya. So many times I had stumbled and almost fallen due to the rough terrain. I was diligently trying to complete my research for the book I was writing about Jefferson Nyatuka. The road was filled with so many rocks and deep pot holes. My foot could become stuck so easily and I could stub my toe if I was not careful. As I slowly walked along looking down at my feet and concentrating on every step, something prompted me to look up. There walking beside me was Baba, Bishop Nyatuka’s father. I could feel a very peaceful presence of God while I was walking even before I looked up to see Baba right beside me. I automatically reached out my hand and took his hand. He held my hand ever so gently and he smiled at me so sweetly. He could not speak English and I could not speak in the Kisii mother tongue, but at that moment we totally understood each other. There was a feeling of love going between us that only God Almighty Himself could orchestrate.

That was how it was when you were with Wilson Nyang Weso. I felt like he was my own father and like I was a part of that family just because of the way he was. It was an honor and a privilege to have known that man. In December 2007 Baba passed away. I do not know why he died. Maybe from old age or something like that, but his death caused a lot of grief to the whole Nyatuka family and to me as well.

During the time I was doing the research for this book I was able to observe many things and many people. One thing I observed about Baba was the love he gave to his family, especially to the young children.

One time while I was at the house in Kisii, it was near the end of my trip for that year and I was feeling so tired. I just wanted to be in my own very comfortable house in the United States, but there I was just sitting around listening to everyone speak in another language. I could understand nothing and I felt desperate to communicate with someone, when in walked Baba. All the children that had been playing in the next room came running out of that room yelling and shouting. Even though I did not know what they were saying I knew they were very excited to see someone. That person they were so excited to see was Baba. He immediately began to embrace each child and then he began to play with them. He tickled them and lifted them up and looked into each of their faces smiling at them. That man lived nearby those children. They saw him all the time. Yet they were so excited to see him. It was almost like their first time to see him in a very long time.

When I observed these very special moments Baba had with his grandchildren, I knew I had to write about them. It explains not only Baba, but Moroba or Jefferson Nyatuka as well because Baba is a part of Moroba.

I have learned from this writing experience it is important to hang on to your dreams and keep pursuing them without giving up. It has taken me more than five years to complete this book. In the Bible in the book of Matthew 19:26 it says, Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the people who helped and supported me along the way while I pursued this writing project. Even before I do that I would love to say thank you to my Heavenly Father for choosing me to do this work. I love you Lord so very much. Without you I can do nothing. I would like to thank Bishop Nyatuka for trusting me to write his story. It has been a great honor and a privilege to be able to complete this book for someone as special as you. You are my mentor, my hero and my friend. I want to thank Helen Nyatuka-Omae for helping me put the book together for its first submission to the publisher. Without your encouragement and expertise I would not have been able to submit my work in such a timely manner. I want to thank Pauline Nyatuka for giving me the support I needed to be able to complete my work. She is surely my special and wonderful friend. She is a true gift from God to me. I want to thank my family. Especially my two sons Michael Zika and Bradley Zika for the patience they have had with me while working on this book. I definitely want to thank my lovely and dear friend Pastor Diane Pulda for the positive feedback she gave me, the support and confidence she had in me and especially for the help with the editing process. I do believe John Lenhart gave me some valuable tips that helped me to sequence the book properly and give it that appealing start that I was looking for. Also I must give John the credit for writing most of the preface. To John I give a big thank you from the bottom of my heart. I would also like to thank my friend Pastor Shelby Zahringer who always believed in me during the writing of this book, even when I did not believe in myself. I definitely want to thank my friends from the Valley Harvest Church writers group. They allowed me to read to them orally that first chapter when I returned from my Kenya trip of 2007. I will never forget how they really encouraged me and totally loved what I had written. In fact it was due to their enthusiasm that I was able continue on with this book. Before that I felt stuck and did not believe I could write anymore. Once again, I feel I must thank God and give Him all the praise and glory for the work that He enabled me to do. My deepest desire is that God would thoroughly bless everyone that reads this life changing book. I know it has blessed me throughout the years while I worked on it. God Bless you all so very much.

PREFACE

I am a very compassionate man.

Bishop Nyatuka stated it plainly in an attempt to help me understand the common thread holding together the tapestry of his very uncommon life.

How do you know you are compassionate? I asked. Whether it was the cultural differences or fate, he was unable to directly explain himself beyond this point. The only question he could respond to was, When did you first realize you had a heart of compassion? It was then Bishop began to reveal to me many precious stories about his life.

This is the story of Bishop Nyatuka in much the same way I experienced it: over many trips to Nairobi, Kenya during which I heard and documented these life-changing stories.

In the month of June during the year 2000, I took my first trip to Africa. At that time I believed it would be my one and only trip, so I had embarked upon a safari to Maasai Mara game preserve all by myself. Part of the trip involved covering a very rough road in the safari van. As I bumped along in the safari van, I nodded off to sleep several times.

I had not slept at all the night before because I had been staying in a tent all alone in the middle of Africa. I heard noises all night long as I struggled desperately to fall asleep. I guessed they were coming from wild animals. I just knew the zipper on my tent did not provide a very sufficient lock against whatever it was that was making all those mysterious sounds. I imagined all kinds of things trying to get me during that long endless night. So there I was nodding off to sleep while the safari van traveled over the rough terrain.

Suddenly, I was jolted awake only to discover we were traveling through places that did not even look like a road. I was about to grab hold of the seat in front of me with a look of fear on my face because I was sure the van could not fit into the small crevice it was trying to pass through, when a woman sitting beside me who did not speak English (she was from Israel I think) took hold of my hand. She began to sooth me telling me in another language, but somehow I understood: Everything will be alright. That day as I anxiously traveled together with a group of strangers who did not all speak the same language; the Lord imparted into me a very strong desire to write a book. While my head bounced back and forth violently hitting the back of my seat, I looked at the people and began to think in creative sentences about each person, as though they were characters in a book.

In the year 2006, after returning to the United States I communicated with Bishop Nyatuka quite often through e-mails. When it came close to the time of year that I usually journey to Africa, Bishop asked me to stay with his family for two months. That stay in Africa in 2007 during the months of June and July was the beginning of my writing adventure.

We were sitting in the office eating tomatoes. I remember I was telling Bishop how much I liked tomatoes. As soon as I shared that with him he told someone to go get some more tomatoes for Sherry. I was thinking at the time how special that made me feel. It was only tomatoes, but he wanted to make sure I enjoyed them because that is how he is. Bishop is a kind, gentle, humble, loving man of God and it is my privilege to have known him over the past several years.

As we talked together about the things we have in common like the Pentecostal Church of God, we went on to talk about children. Children are so very important to special education teachers and to former school teachers like Bishop Nyatuka. We were enjoying what we were talking about and then before I knew it Bishop looked at me and proposed that he would like me to help him write a book. It would be a book that would tell the story of his life. I was amazed when he asked me to do that job. What made him think I could write a book? I wondered. As I found myself responding with a very enthusiastic, Yes, I would love to.

The first time Bishop Nyatuka told me stories we were at the house in a place called Ngong, Ngong is a very distinguished section of Kenya about forty-five minutes from Nairobi. This is the place where a lot of mzungu or European (white not African) people settle that live in Africa. Ngong Hills is a beautiful place in the mountains. The landscape is delightful with its rolling green hills, large variety of trees and other beautiful plant life. The air at Ngong brings a welcomed relief from the hot African climate because it is always cool due to the elevation.

The baboons roam freely on the roadside and if you are not careful they will throw rocks at the vehicle as you travel along the road. Baboons throw rocks at women, said the Bishop to me and a group of other people from the church I was traveling with on one of my trips to Africa. I believed we were in danger every time we passed those baboons until I realized it was another one of Bishop’s jokes. He was always joking. (I guess baboons really do throw rocks at women because of their scent, but it’s not really that dangerous.) Bishop’s way of communicating and getting along in life is to tell jokes. He has the gift to make people laugh. He is truly a delightful person to be around because of this tremendous Spirit of joy that reverberates from his very being. When I am with him I always feel happy and joyful.

I want to encourage others who are in the ministry, he said when I asked what he wanted the book to accomplish. Always thinking of others is the way it is with Bishop. He wanted the book to be about his life because people could learn how to overcome their circumstances by looking at the way the Lord had blessed him throughout his life, during good times and bad times. Bishop Nyatuka overcame poverty in a miraculous way. For that reason, he wanted anyone that is struggling with poverty or anything else in life to read about his ministry and be encouraged by his story.

Ngong is the place where some of the more fortunate people of Africa live or travel to take a rest. That is, those that can afford to travel to another home just for a rest. Not very many Africans have that privilege because poverty runs rampant in all areas of Africa. Ngong is where Bishop began to build his home from money that was given to him because of the work he does for Jesus Christ. God always was there for him. Bishop’s deepest desire is to help other people. Many times I observed him giving money to pastors that were in need. I witnessed firsthand the compassion that Bishop has for those that are less fortunate than himself.

Bishop had plans to use the house as an insurance policy to take care of his family. He once told me that if anything happened to him they could sell it and live very comfortably, which was very generous because there is no life insurance policy to be purchased in Kenya. Also, Bishop believed the sale of the house could be used for their retirement someday. Just between you and me, I can’t imagine Bishop ever retiring. He is much too active.

That miraculous house left a lasting impression on me. This is a beautiful place to write a book, I told Bishop as we chatted together on that first day of my writing experience in 2007. Up to then I had only imagined myself writing a book in a very beautiful setting just like the one at Ngong Hills.

As Bishop talked on about his life, I would sink into a very large sofa in a gorgeous room surrounded by exquisite furnishings. The cream colored curtains on the windows matched the furniture perfectly. The cement walls were an off white color because they had not yet been painted. The lack of pictures on the walls was hardly noticeable because of the radiance coming from the room. Mama Bishop, which was the name she was sometimes called out of respect for her position as the Bishop’s wife, or Pauline Nyatuka had done an outstanding job decorating this house and she wasn’t even finished yet. The room looked elegant with its yellow and white color scheme. There was a very large glass coffee table in the center of the room with several couches and chairs surrounding it.

Homes in Africa were arranged this way, from the very simple hut out in the bush or in the slums of Nairobi to this very exquisite mansion in Ngong Hills. Houses in Africa had a living room that contained several couches and chairs surrounding small tables in the middle. This design made the house conducive to entertaining. On several occasions I enjoyed tea or a meal served by the very hospitable African people in a room arranged similar to this one. Yet this room, even though it possessed many similarities to other African homes, felt very special not because of its decorations, but because I was with a very special man of God and I was beginning to fulfill a dream that God had given me several years ago.

During that first year we worked diligently on writing the book. I remember we would sit on the couch in the living room and Bishop would dictate stories of his childhood and early adult life while I held a tape recorder. The writing of this book had a very primitive beginning because I did not own a laptop. All I could think of was to record Bishop while he talked.

Later I would write everything down in long hand that he had told me. I felt the anointing of God every time we worked together on the book in those early days. I remember the day we ran out of room on the tape recorder, so Bishop asked me to erase the tape and start again. I just looked at him and said, No, I do not want to lose your voice. I treasured every moment we worked together.

The majority of that first year of writing was spent at the rented house in Kayole and even though it was not a fraction as nice as the house in Ngong, it felt very special because it was filled with people that I grew to love. I resided in the rented house in Kayole for the duration of my stay in the year 2007 and during most of my stay in the year 2008. It was in 2008 that the Nyatuka family took up permanent residence at Ngong.

So it was that I would crawl into my bed at night in my very small room in Kayole to write and be creative. It was there between the drab and dreary bug stained walls in my room that I created some of the stories for this book. In spite of my meager surroundings, the Holy Spirit came to me and anointed me to write in a powerful way.

That was also the year we climbed mountains looking for orphans because Bishop Nyatuka was building an orphanage in the hills of Kisii, Kenya. I stayed for two weeks in Kisii with Mama Bishop and a team of people. I thoroughly enjoyed that time we spent in Kisii. Now we have an orphanage that has been built to house twenty children on the main floor. The second floor is almost ready and that is where we will receive small babies that are abandoned by their mothers at birth. The building at the top of the mountain will be used to house the unwed mothers that are so often abandoned by their families. In Nairobi there is another project going on. We are building an apartment building. From this project we will collect the money needed to take care of the orphans in Kisii.

The title of this book was a God given idea. When I prayed and asked the Lord about how to write a book and where to begin, He told me to ask Bishop Nyatuka about the major turning points in his life. With that in mind as we began, I asked Bishop that question about the turning points in his life. At first he did not understand what I was talking about. So I explained that a turning point is a time your life when something major happens and it changes your life completely. A few days later as Bishop was leaving the house for the day he said to me, "The title of the book is The Turning Point" and so the name was given to the book.

Later I decided which event I would use to define the title of the book. I decided that when he returned from his first trip to the United States there was a major turning point in his life because that was when he started to preach the faith message. That was also when he looked at the African people as though he was looking at them for the first time. He was really struck by the realization that the Africans were so very poor. That was when he felt a strong commitment and decided to stay committed to try