Pastor to spread the gospel in the Philippines By Frank Abderholden fabderholden@stmedianetwork August 29, 2013 7:56PM Pastor Kenneth Smith | Frank Abderholden/Sun-Times Media A Waukegan pastor who feels it’s his mission in life to evangelize about Jesus Christ to young people will be going on a mission to Nigeria with Hospitals for Humanity this weekend and will spread the gospel to another continent. Pastor Kenneth Smith, 53, of Waukegan has worked with his father, Bishop Solomon Smith of the Mount Moriah Christian Center, for 32 years and he has always felt it was his mission to teach young people. Then he went on his first medical and spiritual mission to the Philippines and it shocked him. He went back another three times. Ministry Classes OnlineBecome a Master of Divinity from an Accredited College. Learn more! LibertyOnlineDegrees “I went to Tondo and where we went the conditions were so bad. The people lived right next to the garbage dump and after a truck would leave, the kids would run over to the garbage and eat the food right on the spot,” he said. “Two miles away there was a pretty city with people barbecuing and throwing frisbees,” he said, wondering how they couldn’t see how terrible that was. “And people here don’t realize what we’ve got,” he said. “That gave me my passion to go back and do something,” he said of the three return trips. This time he is headed to Nigeria with his sister, Dr. Pamela Smith, and Myna Shegog, a registered nurse, who met Dr. Segun Ajayi, one of the founders of Hospitals for Humanity, when he was a student at the old VA hospital in North Chicago. Hospitals for Humanity (HFH) is a nonprofit organization started in 2006 by Dr. Ajayi and his sister, Kellye Smith-Essien, so that developing countries would have access to quality and affordable health care. At the same time, the hospitals are centers of learning and training, places where medical professionals from all specialties share knowledge about innovative patient care and emergent technologies. Ministry Classes OnlineBecome a Master of Divinity from an Accredited College. Learn more! LibertyOnlineDegrees Study Missions at BethanySpecialized, real-life training for modern missions—Learn more now! BCOM.org/MissionsSchool Want A Minister License?Become Ordained Today Easy Non Denominational - Women Welcome amfellow.org/OnlineOrdination To date, they have provided over $50 million in free medication, medical equipment and surgeries to over 200,000 patients in Nigeria, Haiti, Senegal and the Philippines. “I had to apply and send in my resume and I am going as a photographer,” he said. You have to pay for the flight, which is about $1,300. His plan is to bring equipment so he can take pictures of the kids, print them out and give them to them right away. The airline will allow them extra carry-on bags to haul medicine and other supplies. “Just things like aspirin and vitamins. It doesn’t mean much here, but it’s a big deal over there,” he said. Smith likes to fish on Fox Lake and he originally had salted away $1,300 for a boat but then decided to go on the mission. He sees fishing in relation to how he ministers to young people. “I’m going to take a bag of Smarties (a small candy), which is my favorite, and that’s a way to get their attention while I preach the gospel,” he said. He’s used the candy before. “When I eat them I put them all in my mouth. They just take one little piece and roll it back up for later,” he said. “If you can get people’s attention, it (the gospel) might stick with them,” he said. Most of the people there are Muslim, or witch doctors. Some witch doctors use herbs to create medicines, but others are the demonic kind,” he said. His mission work in general is fueled by Mark 16:15. “He said to them ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news’.” Here at home we take care of people’s spiritual needs through services and bible study, said Smith. “But evangelizing is going out and spreading that word to all of the world,” he said. “Jesus took care of the natural needs and the spiritual needs. This is what I have to do. They get both. You have to have a balance,” he said. THIS ARTICLE WAS IN THE SUNTIMES AUG. 30 2013
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 00:12:56 +0000
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