Madoya and Bondeni: 11-22

After doing a few sex education classes with girls from different villages I have noticed a few things.  Each village seems to have a different profile based on the questions the girls ask us. There were more questions about sexual abuse at Pangani. There were more questions about drugs and alcohol in Bondeni. We were talking to a younger group of girls in Madoya, so they were adorable and asked us a lot of questions about ourselves.

Today we talked to girls from class 1 through 4 in Madoya. We had such a great time. The teachers were really into it too. They took notes and asked us for a hard copy of the material. Then they invited us to their student’s graduation next weekend.

We did a second session in Bondeni and focused on drugs and alcohol. Again, we had a great time. I just love these busy days where we just get a lot done. It was so good. These girls just love learning. The teachers said that it is nice to have someone else come in to back them up with these issues.

Fire and Fireworks: 11-5

Just another crazy day that started off normally. Julie and I worked all morning on the sex ed project. We finished the abstinence PowerPoint for the girls and whipped up a presentation for the boys too. Around lunchtime we noticed smoke billowing into the air from nearby shanties. We scaled to the top floor in Pangani to get a better view of what was going on. A cluster of shanties were on fire. Men had climbed on top of the sheet metal roofs and were ripping them off. From my view I could see the orange flames dancing on the rooftops and a huge column of black smoke. Occasionally I could hear the sheet metal being twisted by the heat.

It was very frustrating to watch. Feeling totally helpless. As it turns out, there was no water around to put out the fire. A fire truck eventually showed up, but once again, there was a major water shortage. Eventually, I saw some water used. But by that point, many people had lost everything. Some students had their homes burned down.

In the evening Erin, Bethany, and Justine joined us with a visit to the Christmas Bazaar at a mall. It was hilarious and not very Christmas-y.  Afterwards we ate a delicious dinner at a café. I had a guacamole burger and a salad.

Afterwards we went to a Diwali festival. It is a Hindu holiday where they shoot off tons of sweet fireworks. We awkwardly went to a temple and watched some fireworks outside. Eventually we went inside the temple (after taking off our shoes). It was gorgeous. On every side of big open room were their idols. They were kinda creepy. On the ceiling were sweet paintings of things I didn’t understand.

Followers would loudly ring a bell and approach one of the idols. Some would kneel, some bowed, and some fell face first on the ground in prayer. There was an offering box in front of each. The whole room was like a spiritual vacuum of emptiness. Here were people praying to porcelain inanimate unresponsive statues. I wondered what they felt while praying. I would imagine that it felt cold.

I felt guilty that here I was watching people fall face first on the ground for statues and I won’t even do that for the living God.

The Harvest is Plentiful: 10-26 through 11-3

For the past week and a half, I have been working closely with Timothy (who runs the Post Test clubs and HIV/AIDS awareness programs). We have done home visits, delivered food baskets, presented the gospel through evangelism, and worked on our project for the girls and now boys in MOHI schools.

I have learned a lot about the power of the Holy Spirit and the confidence it brings. Last week I accompanied Timothy on home visits for the people in the HIV/AIDS Post Test Club in Area 2. The very first woman we visited had decided to go off her antiretroviral meds. She is battling alcoholism on top of it and has been sick. I prayed for her and her mom. After stumbling through my prayer we continued to the next shanty. As the day went on and I met more people, my confidence grew. By the end of the day I was preachin’ it Kenyan style (although not nearly as epic). We visited about 10 shanties in one morning.

It is very interesting that the more we are in prayer, the more comfortable praying is. Funny how that works. The more you talk to you friend, the more comfortable you are spending time with them.

As Timothy asked each person for their prayer requests, I realized that regardless of where a person lives, human struggles are all similar. The people we prayed for were concerned about their finances, their children’s schooling and health, their alcoholic husbands, their salvation, and the safety of their families. All concerns any American could feel as well, only magnified in Mathare. Here in Mathare people are living in shanties eating ugali for every meal in the dark, their children’s education is probably the only practical way they can get out of slum conditions, there is virtually no healthcare or access to affordable medicine, men can do basically whatever they want (like have two wives, drink all the time, abuse their children and wives, have no job, and then desert their families), many have never heard of the hope and grace offered by Jesus, and their daughters could be raped before they even get to kindergarten. Frustrated much? Yes.  Okay, I will put away my soapbox for a bit now.

Matthew 9:37 – Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”

Never have I seen the truth of this verse until now.

I got to join Timothy in delivering food baskets to two women in Madoya. The first woman was blind and a widow. She has literally no way of making a living. We got to meet with her and pray for her. She was SO appreciative of the food. It was amazing to be a part of it.

The second woman we brought food to had been bed ridden for a long time and was just getting a bit better. She has HIV/AIDS and has three children. Her youngest son was adorable and very happy. He was a few months old. She had an older son and a daughter too. She is the skinniest person I have ever seen. Her legs were the size of my arms. She was so bony and frail. She had a basket full of medicines she has to take every day. We brought porridge for her kids, flour, rice, and toothpaste. There is no man in her life and her children are from two different men. She was very happy to have company and I got to pray for her and her children.

We also visited another 4 shanties that day. At the last shanty we visited we did some sweet spontaneous evangelism. Timothy asked me to explain what it meant to be born again. This time I was ready with my “sermon on reserve.” She decided to give her life to Christ and became a believer that day.

It was an amazing and overwhelming day. I absolutely love praying with all the people we meet. The Holy Spirit is so powerful. It is amazing to see lives being transformed. People are searching so hard for hope and once we present the gospel to them, many want to put their trust in Jesus. It is so beautiful. God’s love for his children is so great.

Yesterday I got to go out and do some evangelism. I used the EvangeCube and Timothy translated. I was explaining who God is and what Jesus has done and the hope he brings for the first time to people. Many are hearing for the first time. Also, in Mathare, I am explaining the gospel for the first time so openly. Why can’t I be so open at home? I love having conversations with people about Jesus, but I need to share the gospel more often. Just straight up explain who Jesus is and what he has done for us. Present his invitation to follow: If we take that first step of faith, he will run to us with open arms and meet us where we are. This can be done without becoming a Bible-thumper. It needs to be done.

It is so exciting to see people put their trust in Jesus. I just want to dance through the muddy, trash covered streets of Mathare every time. The angels truly are rejoicing.

On Saturday Julie and I taught the first part in our series for the girls in Pangani. The topics we covered were: your changing body, life goals, self-esteem, prayer, and wisdom. It was sweet! The first session was with class 4 and 5. About 50 girls joined us in the library for an hour and a half. We all had such a blast. After the first session, the class 1, 2, and 3 girls came in. We had the same talk with them too. My favorite part of the day was the anonymous questions.

We gave each girl a piece of paper and pen to write down any questions they had anonymously and then we collected them. Julie and I went through them all and answered many right then. We saved the ones on sex and pregnancy for next time. A lot of the questions were pretty typical. Some were pretty intense. The girls totally loved getting to ask us whatever they wanted. It was so much fun. I answered the questions on anatomy and Julie answered the questions on relationships. It is awesome to work with Julie because we both have different strengths and together we can rock it.

On Tuesday, Timothy told us that the boys wanted some sort of session too! I guess the girls told the boys how much fun they had and now the boys feel left out. We are working to arrange a lesson for them with Timothy. Also, in the works, is going to Kosovo, Mathare North, and Joska to teach the kids there.

It has been so exciting to really empower these girls through knowledge. I’m sure I will have more to say on that later after we do all three parts of the lesson.

I can’t wait to get to heaven and see my brother and sisters in Christ from Mathare. God is so faithful and his love is unfailing. I get goosebumps just thinking about Jesus saying to these little girls in Mathare, “She is mine. She is my child. I love her.” It is my prayer that these kids can feel that love surrounding them. That they can feel the showers of grace poured out over them. 

What a Day!: 10-22

Today was an insane day for a number of reasons. Number one: Triage at the clinic in Mathare North seemed like total chaos. There were probably around 200 people all clustered around waiting to be seen. Unfortunately we were just holding a morning clinic (from 9:00-12:00). This meant that we stopped taking new patients around 11:00. Since we had to turn people away, people would come up and plead with us to see their loved ones. Heartbreaking.

This was particularly frustrating because we wanted to stay all day and serve everyone in Mathare North because it was the last clinic day there. In fact, I would have been happy to stay all night and serve everyone in Mathare. When we had to start turning people away, I just emotionally shut down. When a woman asked me to see her mom who had fallen down and injured her side, I asked her if she was bleeding. She said no. We received strict instructions from Robert that we weren’t taking anyone else. Therefore, I had to tell her, “Poli sana.” (I’m very sorry).

This caused me to really have a logic/emotion crisis in my mind. The logical side of me loves fairness. We stopped the line off at family number 40. Number 41 was turned away. That lady was essentially number 41. To keep order, we had to say no. If we let number 41 in, number 42 would want to be seen too. The situation wasn’t fair to that mom who had fallen down and hurt herself. But, turning her away was the fair thing for the group as a whole.

And then I wondered what Jesus would have done. I immediately thought of Mark 1:29-34 where Jesus stayed up late into the night healing a whole town. He could have healed number 41. But, then again, he could have healed all of Mathare North. And he could have stayed up all night doing it taking time to talk to each person. However, I realize that Jesus is God. We are merely humans at the clinic. Doing our best with what we've got. After turning people away, I was deeply saddened, but thankful for my ability to logically think through things. I understand the value of keeping order. The medical team had to leave at a certain time. It stinks that we couldn’t help all those people in Mathare North, but we helped quite a number of them. I know the community is very thankful for the medical help that was provided. And God is the ultimate healer anyway. He knows the needs of his people and he is always faithful.

So the first half of my day wasn’t so great. After work, we went to Roselyn so Leann could run and Julie and I could chill/nap/read/talk outside. We all find therapy in our own ways. Afterwards we went to Java for coffee and dinner. We continued our Bible study on Hebrews.

I was reading Hebrews 4 aloud at our table. Two ladies at the booth next to us heard what we were reading and one of them came over. Her name was Naomi and she works at the UN. She said that it was rare to see anyone reading the Bible at Java and she was curious. She told us about her ministry at the UN. She works with legal documents but also evangelizes and holds church services aimed at street kids. Basically, Naomi is a stud. She told us that she was going to be giving a short devotional and prayer at a lunch for the President of Kenya and his big-wigs on Tuesday!

After hearing this, Julie led us in prayer for her. At this point, the other lady at the table came over and told us her name was Jane. We told them what we were doing in Kenya and Jane chimed in that she knows Mary Kamau! They went to school together!

Naomi invited us over to her house for some chai. Naturally, we obliged. It was about 7:00 and pitch black outside. We followed her car down a few streets to a big fancy gate. A guard let us in and we parked in front of a gorgeous house complete with fountain. As we walked inside we passed by a huge winding wooden staircase. We made our way to the sitting room where we ate a second dinner and chatted over chai.

It was so much fun. We discussed our various ministries and encouraged one another.  At the end of our evening we took a picture together and watched Naomi’s son perform “How Great is Our God” at his church (it was recorded). We had to leave at 8:30 to get home by 9:00, but naturally at 8:30 Naomi popped in this video for us to watch. After awkwardly fast forwarding for about 10 min, she called in her son to find the correct spot for us. He found it in about 5 seconds. We watched for another 15 min. At the end of the day we took a picture together. It was fantastic. We made it home by 9:30.