Coming Home
We always look forward to hearing all the different stories of how our students came to NU. As different as these stories may be, they all have two things in common: Northwest University and faith in Jesus Christ.
For one student, the journey to NU started in Kenya. Kimani Nyambura was born the son of coffee pickers in the small Kenyan village of Ngenia. Each morning, Kimani’s mother would rise early to walk the 10 miles between their village and the coffee plantations where she worked for $2 a day. As a strong Christian, these circumstances drove her to depend on the power of prayer.
“Growing up in poverty changed me,” Kimani said. “I would see hope through my mom’s prayers. It helped me trust that God was going to provide.” God answered those prayers in a way he never expected.
Kimani’s story was featured in an Emmy-nominated documentary called A Small Act. Through the film, many people heard Kimani’s story, one of which paid for Kimani to come to college in America.
After a year of attending a university in Wisconsin, Kimani’s donor became sick and was unable to continue her financial support. This put Kimani in a tough spot, but during this time, NU President Joseph Castleberry heard his story and wanted to help. The next fall, Kimani enrolled at NU.
“Bringing me to Northwest made me realize that God wanted to surround me with good people who believe in him,” Kimani explained. “I started to notice that people wanted to know me and my story. That did not happen when I was in Wisconsin. It reminded me of my church.”
Kimani went on to say that “coming to NU has been a learning experience for me and has encouraged me to find my own faith. My mom prayed, and that’s really cool, but I want to see why I believe in Jesus and why I pray.”
At some point, every Christian must make their faith their own. The NU community is a safe place to do exactly that.