Discipleship
The Problem:
Although family is very important in Kenyan culture, most
families we work with are broken and struggling to survive. A majority of families in the IDP camps
consist of single parents trying to make an income and provide for themselves
as well as their kids. There are
numerous single mothers trying to care for as many as 6 or 7 children. This is a difficult life, simply making
it through the day-to-day and getting enough to eat. Relationships and mentoring can take a back seat and suffer
because of the immediate physical needs facing their families.
With the stressed family structure, the church should be a
place where single parents and children can turn to for assistance. While this is true in some cases, most
often the church isn’t helping families develop or providing applicable
training for those who are trying to follow Jesus. There is an emphasis on converting new people to faith in
God, but training believers in growing in their relationship with God is
something that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
The Solution:
In short…discipleship.
People need to be invested in.
They need someone to care for them and to intentionally show them the
love of the Father. This is
especially true for children growing up in fatherless homes, for kids whose
mother is gone most of the time working in the fields, and youth who haven’t
had examples of Godly men and women in their lives.
So, in conjunction with helping get youth back in school,
we’re helping to start and after school program for those students. Currently, our team is helping to
mentor a group of five young adults who have finished secondary school (high
school). We’ve been meeting
together, praying over God’s vision for what’s ahead, and empowering them to be
the change that they want to see.
In the next couple weeks, these five young adults will start
to give back what’s been invested in them. They are going to be the leaders and teachers in the after
school programs. They will be
teaching English, helping students with their homework, counseling anyone who
wants it, and investing time and energy into children who desperately need
positive influences in their lives. (Photo: One of the five leaders, Gladys, helping Paul on the computer.)
We’re excited about what’s transpiring here and about the
generation that is going to shift the cycle of poverty that’s been here for so
many years! Please pray that God
continues to bring us people that need to be invested in and that He provides
the resources to do so.
