The Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints new Mombasa District held its first ever district conference on May 24 and 25, 2016. It was presided over by President Gary C. Hicken of the Kenya Nairobi Mission.
The 2 day conference was held at the Pride Inn Hotel in Mombasa and had over 200 member attend from the Likoni, Changamwe and Bamburi Braches of the Church. President Jarvy Moses Msafiri is the Distirct President and was joined by 1st Counselor Benard Mwambere and 2nd Counselor Jason Fairbourne. Also in attendance was Gideon Chirchir, a counselor in the Kenya Nairobi Mission Presidency and Sister Kathryn Hicken, wife of the Mission President.
President Hicken, on Sunday encouraged saints to soldier on, and keep the commandments of God. “Don’t worry too much, just be nice and good to your fellow beings?” While teaching on Saturday during the priesthood and adult session, President Hicken emphasized the importance of continuously strengthening families, by holding activities like going to the beach, reading scriptures and praying together. He said families are ordained of God and therefore the husband and wife should love, respect and help each other out with daily responsibilities. He added that a husband, as the head of the families, should always provide and protect their families.
President Fairbourne, during that Saturday Adult session, encouraged members to love God by magnifying their callings. He gave a testimony of an experience when the church sought for his help to develop a self-reliance program and he turned down the calling because he was closing his consultancy firm. “As the lift opened and I entered it after that meeting with church PEF officers, I felt that guilt in me that I had not done the right thing turning down the request. I later agreed to go out for lunch with them and promised that when they had anything that will require my help, I’m willing to do it.” He was later given a calling to be part of a team that worked on that program. President Fairbourne encouraged members that as church pioneers in their areas, that they should accept church callings and serve God with love.
Sister Hicken testified about the wonderful experiences in Mombasa with the saints, and the great love that she felt, saying that it has been a blessing to her and President Hicken. She shared an experience of her youngest daughter who is 30 years now. When still young and crawling, her father, President Hicken, used to put her on top of a refrigerator and encourage her to jump in his arms. “It was amazing to see the trust that our daughter had in her father when told to jump! Jump! This is because she could look at her father, strive and get into his arms confidently. It was a wonderful experience at that level of trust in her father knowing that after jumping, he will hold her.” She encouraged saints to continue trusting Jesus because he loves them.
District President Jarvy Msafiri counseled members on love, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and how each member should emulate the Savior in their daily lives. Branch President Alex Maina of the Likoni Branch, testified about the blessings that come with temples. He said that before he became a member of the church, he had been told a lot of things which were unusual and when he found the church he started investigating. “I used to sit near the door so that in case of anything unusual, I’ll be able to dash out as fast as possible to save myself. But as I continued investigating and looking forward to see those strange things talked about, nothing came to pass after I sat for 2 Sundays near a door. I now started meeting with the missionaries and I was taught, baptized and confirmed a member of the church with my family.” He encouraged members to keep the commandments of God and be worthy to go to the temple. He recalled the wonderful experience he had when he took his family to the temple for the first time.
Mombasa District continues as the newest District of the Church in Kenya. Members enjoyed the conference gathering on this beautiful coastal city on the Indian Ocean.