The History of LifeWay Children's Centre in Kenya

After sending our first team to Kenya since finalizing our partnership, one of our staff members on the team was able to sit down with the ministry director, Befon Asiago, to get a comprehensive overview of LifeWay's history.

The grounds of LifeWay Children's Centre in Kisii Kenya (2025)

Mr. Asiago (Befon’s great great grandfather) grew up as a Catholic believer. He felt God’s call to begin a church and in the year 2000, he donated a plot of land in Kisii where people started to meet and worship under the trees. As time went by, the congregation grew to about 36 people who met Wednesdays and Sundays to worship and study the Bible.

In 2005, Mr. Asiago became ill and spent time in a local hospital where he met a medical missionary doctor from the UK named Betty. Betty was interested in his work and vision, and the two formed a friendship. Mr. Asiago had a dream to build a structure for the church, and Betty saw an opportunity to help make this a reality. She spread the word to connections she had in the Mennonite denomination in the UK, and soon brought a team of friends from the UK to Kisii.

Two of these team members, a married couple named Paul and Diane, were so impacted by the trip that they decided to move to Kenya and work alongside Mr. Asiago. Soon, the dream was realized and a church, kitchen and rooms were built on the original plot of land. 

As the church grew, they started to provide meals after the Sunday service. The church leaders soon noticed that more children began to attend church services, likely because of the weekly feeding program. Recognizing the need, the leaders began praying about a ministry to children in need. 

In 2008, through the generosity of Paul and Diane and the connections from the UK, the church expanded to have multiple buildings designated to provide children with a safe place to stay. This was the birth of LifeWay Children’s Centre.

The sign posted outside of the Children's Home states the mission and vision of the Christian centre.

Mr. Asiago began overseeing the children’s home and their activities, while Paul and Diana continued their involvement in LifeWay Church. Just a couple years later, LifeWay was registered and recognized by the Kenyan government.

Pastor Befon Asiago was appointed as the Director of LifeWay Ministries in 2020.

Mr. Asiago became ill and eventually passed away in November of 2018. As a result, Paul took over the leadership of both the church and the children’s centre, but Paul and Diane were soon forced to return to the UK due to the pandemic in early 2020. Before leaving, they transitioned the leadership of both ministries to Befon, who was previously serving as a youth leader at LifeWay Church.

Paul and Diane continued to support LifeWay Church and LifeWay Children’s Centre from a distance, but after only a few months, Paul and Diane both tragically contracted and passed away from COVID-19.

The financial provisions from the UK diminished quickly and by 2021, Befon was left with hardly anything to care for the children and was forced to sell some assets from LifeWay Church to make ends meet. In the midst of this, Befon had a desire to continue to study and learn theology and began to do some research, which is how he came to find Pleasant View Mennonite Church in Oklahoma. Befon listened to their church services online for some time, even gathering members of LifeWay Church to occasionally listen to the sermons. 

In 2022, Befon wrote an email to Pleasant View Church and Jeff, the head pastor, responded. Befon shared with Pastor Jeff his desire to study theology and asked if Jeff would mentor him. The two met weekly on Zoom, and later Jeff introduced Befon and the LifeWay ministry to the church elders via Zoom.  

LifeWay was still struggling financially and was even on the verge of closing the children’s home. Thankfully Pleasant View Church stepped in and was able to support LifeWay for several months, ensuring the children were fed and would remain at the centre. 

Pleasant View Church Leaders and CTL's President are pictured with the staff of LifeWay Children's Centre during a visit to the ministry in January 2023.

This is when Children to Love International (CTL) learned about LifeWay. Through CTL’s 17-year relationship with Pleasant View Church, Pastor Jeff reached out to discuss a more permanent solution to meet the needs of LifeWay. CTL was introduced to Befon and began to get to know him better, as well as the ministry at LifeWay Children’s Centre.

In January of 2023, CTL’s President joined Pastor Jeff and several Pleasant View Church leaders for a quick trip to Kisii, Kenya to personally meet Befon and see the ministry in action. After the trip and several more months of engagement and conversations with Befon, it became clear that LifeWay aligns well with CTL’s mission, vision, and core values. In Fall of 2023, the leadership of CTL began to discuss making LifeWay a ministry partner of the organization.

CTL's President and Pleasant View Church Leaders meet with Befon Asiago during the January 2023 visit.

In January of 2024, LifeWay Children’s Centre officially became Children to Love’s sixth ministry partner. Pleasant View Church continues to financially support LifeWay through CTL. Today, Befon and 11 other LifeWay employees care for 121 children who reside on the LifeWay campus, and help an additional 30 children and their families in nearby communities.

Additionally, through the work of now multiple generations, LifeWay Church has planted several churches around Kisii and beyond. This is a remarkable story of how the Lord has blessed and sustained this ministry for the past 25 years.

The 121 children currently living at LifeWay Children's Centre have a long history of faithful believers to thank for the provisions, opportunities and care they receive through the ministry. Praise God!