On Sunday morning we
had our first chance to see the kind of work Pastor William does here in
Eldoret. He has chosen to set up a church in the heart of the market area
in town where hundreds of street children roam.
This man has a tough job!
and roof.
The area of town: a busy marketplace along bumpy, dirt
covered streets next to a large field where people live.
The congregation: about 30-40 street “children”
(ages 8 to mid twenties)
-most of these
children were carrying around bottles of glue
in their mouths and were high
-many of them
have a history of criminal acivities of some
kind
-several
haven’t eaten or showered in who knows how long
-many have
wounds which won’t heal
-one 17 year old girl was so high
she couldn’t take care of
her toddler who wandered around the room in a dazed
pregnant again even now from using herself to earn money)
After the service we fed everyone (Pastor William does this
several times a week) and there was a scramble for the food. These
children are hungry for a lot of things they can’t explain. All they can
do is numb the pain and forget the bad memories. They are not
“typical” of most church congregations. But maybe they should
be…
What if the sick really were welcomed into a place of
healing, which is what the church is intended to be? I’m not just talking
about physical ailments, but the sickness of the heart. Most people would
probably not be comfortable going to a church like this for many reasons.
What is church to you? Is church a particular
building, way of doing things, type of sinner, what? These children are not going to walk a lot
farther to a clean building to go to “church” where they are not welcomed or
are sneered at. So how will they hear
the truth? That they’re not worthless, that
they are loved, of the hope of healing for their hearts? I don’t want to be so focused on my salvation
(which I know I have so now what…?) that I miss out on bringing Kingdom to
these children.
Mathew 6:10: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on
earth as it is in heaven.”
These are Jesus’ words while teaching how to pray. I say we
are his kingdom, and he wants us to start bringing it while we are here on earth. I’m not saying it will be easy. In fact, it will take most of us way out of our
comfort zones…but what if?
How do you define church?
What is it to you? I honestly want
to know what you think.
