From the young age of 10, when Jecinta Kiugi sought solace in prayers and church after the loss of her parents, she always knew that God would grant her wishes.
“My mother died when I was in Class One and three years later, my dad died leaving me and my two siblings under the care of my aunt. I became more of a woman’s guild child, which made me basically a child of God. I always knew that all my wishes would come from God. I remember when I was in Form 2, I was out of school due to lack of fees for a year. Then the church supported me. I got a scholarship with the National Council of Churches of Kenya,” says Jecinta.
After high school, Jecinta got a job as an untrained teacher of Mathematics and Science at a private school. Then she met her husband, Kiugi Apollo, the current Minister of PCEA Kamiti Ridge Parish.
Fasted and prayed
She later joined the university to study for a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance. But as she enrolled, she knew she would have to take a break as with most married couples, it was certain a baby would come along the way.
“We knew I would take a maternity break in between my studies. That is when the waiting for a child started,” she says.
“There were days when we fasted to specifically pray for a child. When I was home alone, I would fervently pray for a child,” says Jecinta who is now the Chaplain at Presbyterian University of East Africa.
Years passed, and the longer the answer to their prayer for the child was delayed, the more they prayed.
“We felt we needed to implore the mercies of God,” she says.
“I was not on any family planning method. Four years passed and I completed my university degree and graduated but I was not yet pregnant. We increased the frequency of our prayers for a child and involved our very close friends. Our intimacy became more intense because we felt we had a responsibility as human beings but still the answer was not evident,” she adds.
Jecinta decided to enrol for her second degree, Bachelor of Divinity. People questioned why she was concentrating on education instead of focusing on getting a child.
“Most people told me to stop my studies and focus on having a baby first. Those were very sad moments for me, and I tried hiding my struggles with smiles,” she says.
But she was a reverend’s wife and people talk, even the church folk usually have a say about the pastor’s wife.
"Also, infertility is not so common for women in their 20s, so it raised concerns. We saw the best of doctors within our reach. One of the many gynaecologists we had seen told us that we could not get a child. I remember that day, we went back home so sad and almost subdued,” she says.
But one of the tough moments was when they would stand on the pulpit to preach about children.
“You do a sermon that relates to children and that time I’m thinking of how God has not responded to what I’m preaching about. I remember when we prayed for other people to get a child and they became parents. We became best couples to almost six couples and officiated weddings and these couples would get one child, then the second child, then the third child… while we are still praying for the first one,” she says.
Rev Jecinta Kiugi poses for a photo at her home in Limuru.
What kept her going?
“Faith. I remember telling God, "I know you have a plan for all this even though it takes time, it will surely come.” Even though I had questions as I ministered to other people, I knew He will answer my prayer,” she says.
But just like any couple waiting for a child, there were dark days.
“Sometimes I would be out doing my work and serving God, but I couldn’t wait to finish and go home and cry,” she says.
Ruth and Naomi
In most households, childless women face stigma, especially from in-laws.
“But my late mother-in-law was my shoulder to lean on. Like the bible story of Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth, she stuck by me. She believed that the famine symbolising my waiting for the child would one day end and I would become a mother. This was such a relief,” she says.
The Biblical famine ended when her two pregnancy tests turned positive when she was 32 years old.
“My pregnancy journey was smooth. But the toughest part was childbirth. I was induced, laboured for 18 hours and then taken to the theatre for an emergency procedure. Our beautiful baby came at midnight. We took time to think and pray over a name and named her Victoria, so every time we call her name; we remember that it was about the victory of the Lord,” she says.
Victoria is seven years old.
“She is evidence of God’s grace and victory over a tough journey. I got her during my second year of the second degree, and I finally dropped out of university for maternity leave before resuming my studies after one semester,” she says.
