Previously, in Kenya … (In the Lost narrator’s voice)
The following morning , Jim and Linda Gandy, another missionary family, invited us to join them in going to their street-kid ministry. The “Street-Kids” are people who have grown up on the streets of Nairobi. Some were born there while others left home because there was not enough food for the whole family. That morning, we woke up about 4:15 and drove down to the heart of Nairobi. We met with about 20 men deemed “street-kids.” One of the local pastors shared a short devotional and then we prayed with them in groups. After that, we gave out some milk to each one. Sometimes food is also distributed but we only had milk this time. Though not allowed during the “meeting,” several were quick to pull out their water bottles filled with glue, often from shoes, that they inhale to get high. Drugs become an escape from the life they live. Respa was the only lady there and the first to return to her addiction. All that was within me just wanted to shake her and tell her, “This isn’t helping you! The One who can already loves you and is ready and willing!” We were there to minister and even in the midst of that, some of them still chose drugs. As we were finishing, our team experienced something that will remain ingrained in our minds. They usually wrap up by doing some medical work such as treating cuts and burns. As we were finishing a man rolled up in a wheel chair asking for help. We still aren’t entirely sure what the problem was. This man’s fingers were either slowly being eaten away by a bug called a “Jigger,” or deteriorating due to diabetes. It was the same with his legs and he expressed it was also in his groin. He was missing both his legs. The one showing came to just below his knee, with the bone visible. We had no idea where to even begin helping him. He desperately needed to go to the hospital, but he was afraid of going and getting a shot. We also found that in situations like this, it is better if his own people take him rather than the missionaries, yet none of his “friends” wanted to take him. Many of them were making fun of him. Linda tried to treat his wounds with some peroxide, though it seemed an insignificant treatment. She was finally able to convince some of the men there that they needed to take him to the hospital. She reminded them that they would need help someday, and if they couldn’t help this friend, why should she help them in the future? They quickly reversed their decision. It is an example of Kenyan culture. There is somewhat of a motto for Kenyans that says, “A person is people.” It is echoed here and with Obama’s election. Kenyans view people as a whole rather than individuals and know their reliance on others. We left the situation of the man in the wheelchair hardly knowing what to think. Our words can never describe the overwhelming sense of hopelessness and need of that situation. It was so sad on so many levels, yet we know that there is always hope with Christ. Seeing that man in his condition will forever be with us. While the physical needs differ from country to country, the spiritual need is always the same. While some people may look “healthy” on the outside, if they don’t know Christ, their spiritual condition is the same as that man’s physical one. I think we fail to realize the gravity of the spiritual needs when everyone looks “healthy.” We know that God wants all men to come to know Him, yet it’s easy to forget the urgency of their situations. That day will forever be a reminder to us of how desperately everyone needs to know Christ.
We know that the news we are sharing is not always the most joyful, so we’ll move from one extreme to the other. A lot of what we see here can be incredibly discouraging… apart from Christ. But with Christ ALL things are possible (Phil. 4:13), and there is always hope. We spent Monday through Wednesday of this last week as part of a mission’s project with a local church called Ridgeways Baptist Church. This church is located in one of the wealthier areas of Nairobi called Runda. However, right in the middle of this area is a small slum called Mji Wa Haruma. It means “House of Pity.” There are about 3,000 people living there. A few weeks ago, 5 young men from this village came to the church and asked if the church could help in some way. There are many problems with witchcraft, early pregnancy, and theft in this village. The church decided to spend a week in the slum, sharing the Gospel, discipling believers, feeding people, and making repairs, and we were, thankfully, asked to be a part of it. We met with the team on Sunday evening to be briefed on what to expect. The picture they painted was very bleak, again, basically hopeless. They were going to do service projects in the morning and seminars and revivals in the evening. The hope is that by the end of the week they can start a small church there. On Monday morning, we met with the team and drove to Haruma. When we got there, we were met by a group of about 20 kids between the ages of 1 and 9. They were our official welcoming committee and our unofficial guides through their home. It was much like Kibera, only smaller. We took a quick walk through the village, across a small river (where they brewed alcohol) and up onto a hill where we spent about 30-45 minutes praying for the people. We then spent a few hours talking with some different people and playing with the kids. The kids are so much fun to be with. They only know a few English phrases such as “How are you?” and “I’m fine.” Every time we see them, or meet new ones we are met with a chorus of, “How are you?” and “Mzungu” (That’s Swahili for white person). On Tuesday, we arrived at the village very early. Our plan was to repair a fence surrounding a small “school.” Instead, we decided to split up in small groups and walk through the village and pray with some of the people. Matt Seitz went off with two of the village men while Matt and I went with two younger men named James and Amos. We spent about an hour moving from one home to the next praying with the people that lived there. Many of their requests were that we pray for their health, finances, and family members and food. As we were heading back to the school, we came across 4 young men, about our age, playing cards. They explained to us that idleness was one of their problems and that they would gamble to pass the time. What they meant by this was that there were no jobs, at least ones they would consider doing. They think it’s so hopeless that they often don’t even try to make things better. One of these men, David, invited us into his shack. It’s surprising to see how “homey” they could make these dwellings. David’s was “tiled” and there was fabric lining every wall and the ceilings. You somewhat forgot where you were, which I’m sure was the objective. He had a poster of the soccer player David Beckham, and one of Jesus that said, “I am the Bread of Life.” He could speak a little bit of English. After we introduced ourselves, Jim told him why we were there, in Swahili. He then asked us if we would pray for him that he would have enough faith to accept Christ as his savior because he wanted to be saved. He said, “I want to be a good man, and I pray everyday that I will have enough faith to be saved.” Matt and I asked him if he knew what was meant by the poster that read “I am the Bread of Life.” We explained to him that all he needed was faith “as small as a mustard seed” and that God was faithful to answer his calls and become his source of life. Through our time with him, we found that he thought he needed to be perfect before he came to Christ. We explained that Christ loved him just the way he was and that even before any of us knew Him, He died for us. He then asked us if we would pray for him to be saved and we talked about how it was his decision to make. It was almost as if he had been convinced he had to say certain words, and he was relying on us to supply them. We explained that God knew his heart and that the words used were unimportant. The crucial thing was the condition of his heart and his recognition of his need for Christ. After a few minutes of talking about that, he looked up at us and told us that he was ready to ask Christ to save him. You could see the hope beginning to well up within him. So we prayed with him as he gave his life to Christ. During this time, his 3 friends had made their way into the home. After we prayed, we were explaining to him that Christ would never leave or forsake him. We also told him about the church and the events planned for that week. The story gets better though. He then told us that he wanted to come to the evening sessions and share what happened to him. He said it was amazing that God would send people from the other side of the world just for his sake. He told us that he was not afraid and asked us if we would pray with him for his friends. Instead of us praying though, he prayed. It was an awesome prayer. We then had to leave and go back to the “school” to prepare lunch. But our story about David isn’t done yet. Lunch took about 3 hours to prepare. It still wasn’t ready by the time we started working on the fence. Our job with the fence was to tear it down and rebuild it. The fence itself was a tangle of wood planks, bamboo, tin and barbed wire. The two Matt’s were busy tearing down a section while the other men were gathering supplies and I was playing with the children. All of the sudden we looked up and saw our friend David, in the midst of the other men, working harder than any of the others. Here was a man, who 4 hours prior, had nothing better to do than gamble, and no desire to do otherwise. Now he had given his life to Christ and was working on a ministry project in his home village. It was an incredibly encouraging sight and the highlight of our time here so far. The rest of our time here in the village was spent playing with the children. I think they view us as a human jungle gym. It’s not uncommon for 6 or 7 kids to be climbing all over us at the same time. They love to be picked up and/or hang from our arms. If you pick up one child, you are immediately swarmed by 30 others all chanting, “Mzungu! Mimi (me)?” I had one young girl ask me the other day if I wanted to be her mom as she held her younger baby sister. It is so humbling and heart-breaking to spend time with these children knowing that they love us so much and that we will eventually have to leave them. Our hearts will forever be with these children. Our only comfort comes from knowing the character of our Lord and the work He is doing here. We know He has great things in store for them. Please pray for them and the people of this village. That may not sound like much, but we have seen God work and move.
We have so much more we want to share with you, and yet we will never do it justice. There is no way we can adequately describe our experiences here. Words can never express the sights, sounds, emotions, smells and experiences here. If you really want to know what it’s like, then you’ll just have to make the trip out here. But you don’t have to come out here to see God work and move. There are people all around us everyday, wherever we are, who spiritually look like the man from the street-kid ministry did physically. God has invited us to experience the greatest of all adventures. We just need to trust Him.

P.S. – Thank you so much if you made it this far. We promise to make the next one shorter and quicker. The internet is somewhat elusive out here…
We love you all!