Pastor Oscar Benavides and his wife Jen were ministers at Prince of Peace in Carrollton, where both Ndoto founder Allison Schlack and Director of Operations John Seale grew up. He championed Allison’s early work in Kenya, preached at the dedication service of what is now Ndoto Community Church in 2006, and this month returned to Kenya at last with his family to provide training for the Ndoto team.
In three days of seminars for our staff, Pastor Oscar and Jen taught about teamwork, relationships, leadership, creative problem solving, and more. The staff noted how Oscar and Jen filled everything with Scripture.
Racheal washing the guests’ hands before the meal
The Benavides family has also been sponsoring one Ndoto student, Racheal, for more than 9 years. Racheal, a high school senior, is about the same age as Oscar and Jen’s daughter, Bailey, and they bonded quickly over a meal in her home and a fun outing to a nearby shopping mall. Racheal’s mom Susan, along with her younger sisters and brother, were so thrilled to finally meet the vessels through which God had blessed their family. Racheal shared about her interests in basketball and medicine.
Their son, Micah, got in on the adventures too. As he is a talented artist, he taught a workshop in drawing to a group of sixth graders at Kudho Primary, a nearby school. Everyone got materials and some discovered for the first time that they actually could draw. Bailey blessed the class with a beautiful song of Jesus’ freedom and love.
In addition to all this fun, the Benavides family took a tour of the community, visited with Allison, Michael, and their kids in their Kisumu home, and concluded their trip with a memorable family safari in the Maasai Mara. Ndoto’s team is extremely experienced in putting these sorts of trips together, and we have several more visitors still planning trips this year. We’d love to speak with you about a trip for you, your family, a small group, or church! Contact John at john@ndoto.org for more information!
L-R: Micah Benavides, Mercy Gemini from our staff, Racheal, Bailey Benavides, Jen Benavides, Oscar Benavides
