Where do we begin? Kibera has been an experience that none of us could have expected…its been a trip of a lifetime. Our days are filled with ministry and our nights are filled with fellowship. In the short time of being here we have built so many relationships that it is going to be bittersweet to leave.
Today was our last day with the preschoolers and some of them have faced more hardships than any one person could imagine. Monica is the woman who started the preschool because of the calling to reach children in need. As a single mother, she has five biological children, five children under her immediate care that were left to fend for themselves, and then also meets the needs of 60 more children from Kibera. One of the children that Monica has taken in is a five year old boy named Davis. Davis is an orphan that has been left in her care because both of his parents died from aids. He himself has aids and Monica has done what she can to get him on medication to suppress the side effects. Monica wakes up every morning at five to start cooking mindazi’s to sell on the streets so that she can have enough money to feed the children. She lives day by day trusting in the Lord to sustain her ministry because she doesn’t know where the money will come from most of the time. Monica is one of the many new friends we have made that have touched our lives here in Nairobi.
Another ministry mentioned in the previous blog is the boys detention center. It’s hard to articulate how much these boys mean to us in just a short span of time. There are 31 boys and they each have their own story of how they ended up on the streets. We have divided into groups and Rivers and I are leaders for the youngest boys. Most of them left because their parents saw that they were starving and sent them to find food by begging on the streets. On a positive note, one of the younger boys, Mansur, was picked up by his grandmother last week to return home. Mansur was leaving right as we arrived and we were able to pray over him before we said good bye. These boys radiate joy but the man in charge of them, Martin, said that two months ago they were unbearable to be around. Martin brought the Gospel when he came to help out at the detention center and half of the boys accepted Christ as their personal Savior. So much of our love and prayers go out to these boys because if they can’t have an earthly father, our prayer is that they see their Father in us.
Please continue to pray diligently for our team as we wrap up our ministry here in Kenya. Pray that we remain in the moment and that we love these children as Christ love us. Pray that we hunger and thirst for him spiritually and that we can be responsive to His calling for us. We love and miss you all. See You soon.
