“Only one life, twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last. Don’t waste it”

I have seen so many things over the past week, I am on sensory overload. We started at Kibera slum where somewhere between 1 and 3 million people live. I saw things that will be burned in my memory forever. We walked in initially and it was a lot of mud huts. As we got further in, we were on a hill overlooking miles of tin roofs on top of huts for as far as you could see.

I watched a lady wash fresh greens in dirty red water that she had scooped out of the run-off ditch, which was full of trash and waste. It represented so many wrong things on so many levels. It was filthy squalor and it was filled with millions. And growing. It is easy to see the natural progression of an unhealthy life in Kibera that leads to illness, crime, or prostitution. It would take an army of people and perhaps a half a century to turn a place that size around. When you think about healthcare, education, clean water, infrastructure- it is still very hard to wrap my mind around how and where you would start.

We were invited to visit a women’s group meeting. It’s strange that I haven’t seen a lot of men here, I don’t know where they all are. Anyway, the women sang some of the most beautiful songs. I couldn’t understand a lick of what they were saying but felt so honored that they allowed us to sit in and listen to them sing praise music to God. For me it was a bonding moment with these women. I feel like they let us in on something personal to them, yet I knew that they were singing to the same God that I have learned about my whole life. It is amazing to me that I can travel to the other side of the world and listen to people, who are suffering more than I will ever know in my lifetime, praise the same God that I learned about in my Sunday school classes as a little girl. These are women who told me from their own mouths that they do not know where their next meal will come from. Women who are experiencing shame and embarrassment for being poor, who don’t want their community to know that they are suffering and need food. They have the same feelings of pride and shame that I would have if I were in their place. It was such a comfort to see them bond in their group and praise the same God I have learned about my whole life, it was like we had a great old friend in common and that made my heart warm and peaceful.

On Jan 1 we participated in community day and did several feedings. Hundreds showed up. I cannot think of a better way to spend the first day of a new year. The community showed up and participated in running races, where I saw several women TAKE OFF their shoes before they ran. Welcome to Kenya. Even the old old men with canes participated in running races.

When it was time for the feedings, the food didn’t look like enough to cover the whole crowd, and culture demands that children eat last. We said a quick prayer for the food to last. The men, women, and children were divided into groups.

I had an opportunity to serve the children and gosh they were so hungry. We served them white rice and they were desperate and pushing in line to get to it. They had no plates so we served rice into their hands. Sometimes it was too hot and they would drop it, which really hurt my heart. Half way through they came up with their shirts cupped so we could put the rice in there. Filthy clothes used as plates. What we would discard and throw away is what their little bodies were desperate to get. I’ve played with several kids for days and thought they were three or four years old. I found out yesterday that one of them, who is smaller than my 3 ½ year old niece , is seven years old. I guess this is how the lack of proper nutrition affects your physical development, especially when your main source of intake is rice.

We fed them again at their graduation ceremony. This time they were able to benefit and eat the meat of the bull we bought and slaughtered when we arrived. You know I did NOT watch nor was I anywhere close by. However, one of the locals commented that he was shocked that we did not kill in the yard. One of the girls on my team replied, “I live in an apartment complex.” Cracked me up.

While worlds and miles apart, the good work that God is doing for these suffering people has connected us all. It is my prayer that the children and families of Eburru realize that we are loving them the same way that God loves all of us, 1 John 4:11 says “since God loved us, we also ought to love one another.” And Psalm 9:18 says “the needy will not be forgotten.”

Lastly, I would like to offer some explanation to my purpose here. I believe that God has commanded us to help e and love each other. Matthew 25:40 says “whatever you did for the least of one of my brothers, you did for me.” I also believe that what we do in faith, God will see through. Philippians 1:6 says that “he who started a good work in you will bring it to completion.” While our time here is limited, I can rest easy knowing that God will finish what has been started here and according to Romans 8:28, he “works for the good of those who love him.”