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HABARI DAYSTAR!
Swahili for ‘Daystar
News’ A New Vice Chancellor Dr. Timothy Wachira
confront the critical issues of our
time. This opportunity is an honor
for Hellen and for Daystar University.
Please join us in prayer for Hellen, for
those attending the congress, and for
the thousands more who will join by
satellite link from around the world.
By Todd Rasmuson, Executive Director
We thank God for
the appointment
of Dr. Timothy
Wachira as the
Vice Chancellor
(President) of Daystar University
beginning on October 11, 2010. Dr.
Wachira will be the 3rd Vice Chancellor of Daystar University since its
founding as a university in 1975.
David Brandt, Vice Chair of the
Daystar U.S. board, served on the
interviewing committee, and he
said, “Dr. Wachira is an experienced
administrator with excellent leadership and management skills. His
commitment to Christ is clear and
deep. I am delighted that Dr. Wachira has accepted the university’s
invitation to become Vice Chancellor of Daystar University, and look
forward to introducing him to our
U.S. constituency.”
Dr. Wachira comes to Daystar after
six years as the Vice Chancellor of
St. Paul’s University in Limuru, Kenya. St. Paul’s is an interdenominational university whose enrollment
has grown, by God’s grace, from 200
students to 1,500 during the Wachira
years. St. Paul’s, a divinity school
founded in 1903, began offering undergraduate coursework in 2007 to
expand its mission into university
education. Dr. Wachira comes to
Daystar with excellent experience in
Christ-centered, higher education.
Dr. Wachira’s major area of study
Fall 2010
Dr. Timothy Wachira
Daystar University Vice Chancellor
has been in medical science with a
focus on medical parisitology and
public health. He earned a BVM and
PhD from Nairobi University and a
MVSc from the University of Liverpool, England. His background
in the sciences positions him well to
lead Daystar into the next phase of
Science and Technology.
Please join us in prayer as Dr. Timothy Wachira transitions to leadership
of Daystar University.
Afrizo’s Hellen Mtawali Leading Worship at Lausanne
H e l l e n
Mtawali, the
founder of
Daystar University’s Afrizo singing
group, has
been selected to help
lead worship
at the Third
Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa,
October 16-25, 2010. The Lausanne
Congress will be attended by 4,000
world leaders from 200 countries to
Partnerships with
Bethel University and
Northwestern College
Daystar University is growing in
enrollment (over 4,000 now!) and
growing in partnerships with other
Christian colleges and universities.
The tragedy of 9/11 put a multiyear pause on our international partnerships, but by God’s grace, that
page of the story is being turned to
make way for a new, better story.
Bethel University has a long history of serving with Daystar, and
the partnership is re-launching. Dr.
Jay Barnes, the President of Bethel
University, will be speaking in chapel at Daystar University in October
2010 to announce the renewed partnership between Bethel and Daystar. Dr. Vincent Peters, Associate
Dean of Off-Campus Programs, has
visited Daystar University several
times, and he has led the way for the
first exchange students between our
campuses.
President Alan Cureton of Northwestern College has supported a
Daystar University partnership in
many ways, and his dream of an African connection for Northwestern
has been shared well by Dr. Al Ottley, Northwestern’s Vice President
Partnerships . . .
continued on page 2
To Advance the Education of Jesus-Centered Servant Leaders to Transform Africa
The symbol of trust
Partnerships . . .
continued from page 1
Nairobi Hope Fund
for Global Initiatives. Dr. Ottley and a team of Northwestern faculty will be at Daystar in October to consult
with us on technology advancements. Student and faculty exchanges will be underway soon between Daystar
and Northwestern. Also, we praise God for the wonderful job that Northwestern College did in hosting 22
Daystar faculty and students for a business vision visit to
Minneapolis/St. Paul in August 2010.
This fund exists to support students who are in Daystar
University’s Continuing Education Program. They are
adults who are primarily “night school” students. These
students have been studying at Daystar for some time
and require only minimal funds to graduate. Needs are
in the $100-$500 range. This scholarship program exists for students in financial need. Many of these students live in the slums of Nairobi.
Samuel Habonimana
Northwestern College hosted a group of
22 Daystar University students and faculty in August.
An Inside Look at Afrizo
In June I went to Nairobi and had a chance to sit in on a
practice of Afrizo, the Daystar choir. An Afrizo rehearsal is lively: full of laughter and talking, movement and
clapping. The singing had already started, so I sat quietly
in the back. The piano starts with some chords to keep
the beat. And leader Hellen asks them to sing a few lines.
They sing them, and again. And again. I notice they
have no music! Then Hellen gives each group a note:
low, middle, high. She starts the chord, then directs them
to sing up a note, then another, then down, down. No
piano this time. All by ear! I gained a new appreciation
of the hard work that results in their wonderful African
style of singing. You can hear them when they tour the
United States in the fall of 2011!
- Cheryl Mahin (Cheryl is married to Pat Mahin, Daystar U.S. staff member)
I am very thankful and pleased to
receive the financial assistance you
have provided to me for my studies
in Community Development. The
money will enable me to sit for my
exams. I am trying to finish in the
August semester.
As a refugee, I have faith in my
God because he has a purpose to let me study in Daystar.
I wish to finish my 20 credits left so that I can work with
the Christian communities and others in holistic development as a facilitator assisted by my God who is my Good
Shepherd and my provider in my life. I believe that he is
acting on my side because he is my comfort. When I feel
hopeless, he always opens a way for me.
Teresia Nzau
I hereby take this humble time to
appreciate the combined effort of
all those who contributed to my
success to make sure my dream for
pursuing my studies comes true.
With your help, I will be able
to continue with my studies and
moreover do my exams, since the
contributions you made have settled my school fees balance. May the Almighty God bless you in marvelous ways
and may your family never lack.
Being an orphan it has not been easy for me to pay the
school fees considering I still have dependents whose eyes
are on me with my little salary. But all in all, God says, “I
will never leave you,” and I believe in these words.
Nairobi Hope Fund Matching Grant!
Cheryl Mahin in Nairobi with the Afrizo group.
A generous donor has given a $5,000 matching gift
for the Nairobi Hope Fund. If you give to the Nairobi
Hope Fund by December 31, your gift will be doubled!
Graduation 2010
June 19th was graduation day at Daystar. 720 students graduated in a ceremony filled
with pageantry and celebration. Diploma graduates as well as Bachelor and Masters
graduates filed across the platform with beaming smiles. Four Daystar U.S. scholarship
students received their degrees that day.
This was my first visit to Daystar and my first time
seeing this event. For most of us attending it was an
all day event. There were smiles, singing and dancing and a day of excitement. On the slope rising
out from the graduation platform were hundreds of
students and beyond them were many families sitting in chairs and on the ground.
Families were dressed in their finest including tribal dress. For some families this
was the first family member graduating from university. I’ve been to many graduations in my life, and this was the most interesting and the most colorful. Of course there
were speeches by the officials of the University, and the keynote address was given
by the Speaker of the Kenya National Assembly, the Honorable Kenneth Marende.
Prayers and hymns were offered and sung in this ceremony
which was in large part a worship service praising God and
honoring Him.
A common theme at most graduations is hope for the future.
It may not be voiced in the comments made, but it is always
there. As the students receive their diplomas they also receive a towel. The towel is symbolic of something that is at
the core of Daystar University: servant leadership. As they receive the towel, graduates are
encouraged to model the servant leadership that Christ lived out in his ministry.
For the rest of my visit to Daystar and Nairobi,
I spent my time visiting Daystar graduates and
the ministries that they are now engaged in. And in those visits I saw that
servant leadership in action. I saw graduates (men and women) working
in the slums, in schools, and in churches. I saw them reporting in the
daily newspaper or running large development offices or human rights
organizations. Daystar graduates are making a difference, and they are
living out the mission of Daystar: to educate Jesus-centered servant leaders to transform Africa.
- Pat Mahin
Manager of Projects and Church Relations
DAYSTAR U.S.
Non Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
For the advancement of Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya.
MPLS., MN
Permit No. 4181
5701 Normandale Road, Suite 325
Edina, MN 55424-2400
Tel: 952-928-2550 Fax: 952-928-2551
E-mail: Info@DaystarUS.org
Website: www.DaystarUS.org
Address Service Requested
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www.DaystarUS.org
Journey of the Heart
Vision trip to Daystar University and Nairobi
Join us on a journey to Kenya to see what God is doing
through Daystar University. You will have opportunity to:
• Interact with Daystar graduates in their places of service
in and around Nairobi
• Visit Daystar’s two campuses where over 4,000 students
study together in a Christian environment
• Worship in a multicultural church with brothers and sisters from varied ethnic groups and many walks of life
• Enjoy a two day safari experiencing the beauty and diversity of God’s creation
Date: February, 2011
Approximate cost: $4,000
For more information call or email Pat Mahin:
952-848-4208 or pat@DaystarUS.org