As he takes over as the Bishop of the Maseno West Diocese of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), Reverend John Mark Huang Godia is a testimony that a man can survive where he never even dreamt of.
Godia says that before joining that army of God, he wanted to be a member of the army of land, the military, and even went for the recruitments twice, but failed.
Probably God wanted him to serve him directly.
Born in Ugunja in 1970, Godia says that he failed both times, before getting saved in 1992 in Nairobi and returning to Siaya to form the Maseno West Diocese’s Youth Evangelistic Team (YET).
“I tried to join the Kenyan military twice but things did not work out for me. During the second attempt, I became second but was overlooked because I knew nobody,” he says in an interview with the Standard.
He was posted as a priest at Ambira Parish at 35, after returning from an education stay in Uganda with a Bachelors in Theology.
Though a lot awaits him in the heavily divided parish, in a county deeply entrenched in politics, especially with regards to the looming 2022 polls, he says that he is ready to tackle it.
“The divisions are not as they are being magnified to look and it is just a section of people allied to my worthy competitor who have sought to create divisions," Godia noted.
He says that his plans also include lifting the diocese from depending on tithes, adding that though he will not shy away from politics, he will use dialogue in a bid to solve political stalemates.
Godia is set to be enthroned by the church archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit on Sunday.