I weave through the dirt paths in an African slum- trying to avoid stepping in the river of waste running through it. I try to focus on my new Kenyan friend, Philip, as he explains where we are going.
The pungent smell of human waste and rotting food burns my nose, while watching kids run barefoot through the waste to retrieve their soccer balls pierces my heart.
Nikki and Gina aren’t far behind, and not far behind them a swarm of beautiful children in tattered clothes. The kids follow us and whisper “mizungo” which is a non-derogatory term for “white person.”
The pungent smell of human waste and rotting food burns my nose, while watching kids run barefoot through the waste to retrieve their soccer balls pierces my heart.
Nikki and Gina aren’t far behind, and not far behind them a swarm of beautiful children in tattered clothes. The kids follow us and whisper “mizungo” which is a non-derogatory term for “white person.”
Philip leaves us for a minute and we just stand there being stared at in the middle of the slum.
The kids peek at us from around the corners until Nikki finally goes over to them and holds out her hand.
The kids peek at us from around the corners until Nikki finally goes over to them and holds out her hand.
Philip comes back and leads us through another maze of tin shanties and we duck into a small room that is baking from the sun shining on the roof. There sits a humble family just smiling.
Stunning.
We begin talking and they tell us their story. James was a banker and Nancy was a designer-both having college papers. They lost their jobs with the many economic struggles Kenya has had and then Dave took sick with Tuberculosis. His future looked very grim, but God sent a miracle and took away the TB.
He is still weaker than before and is finishing his medication, but he is healthy and able to be with his family. The problem now is that neither parent has a job and it is difficult to put food on the table. Nancy told us about the struggle of providing food for the kids, paying school fees, and about the dangers of bringing up children in the slums. They have beautiful dreams and are trusting God to make them a reality. We prayed with them and then they offered us tea and sweet potatoes. A family with barely enough food to feed their children and they feed us.
Philip tells us that having us in their house is one of the biggest privileges of their lives.
So this is what ministry will look like this month. We’ll be working with an amazing pastor and his wife, Joseph and Lydia. They have a church they planted in the slums and it is amazing. They believe in improving the community as a means of sharing the gospel. mmmmm. We will be going door to door through the slums, just talking to people and sharing Christ. We will also be teaching character development classes in the schools and doing a lot of prayer meetings. On our first day of doing this, we saw 3 people give their lives to the Lord. I absolutely love Kenya, the people, the food, and what God is doing here. God’s favor has been on this squad as well. In the past week of ministry our squad has done, we’ve had over 20 Kenyans come to know the Lord and several people be healed of things.
It has been incredible. Samara, one of my team leaders called me two days ago just bubbling with excitement. She told me about how they prayed for healing over several people. My favorite story: they went into a house with a woman who had what they thought was a torn rotator cuff in her shoulder. She couldn’t lift her hand to shake the girls’ hands. So they started praying. And praying. And praying. By the end of the prayer, the woman was doing arm circles in the air. Oh how I love our God and the testimonies He gives us. So please continue to pray for the Q, especially these next two days during our prayer/fast. God is moving in powerful ways and we are anxiously anticipating what will come from these two days!
It has been incredible. Samara, one of my team leaders called me two days ago just bubbling with excitement. She told me about how they prayed for healing over several people. My favorite story: they went into a house with a woman who had what they thought was a torn rotator cuff in her shoulder. She couldn’t lift her hand to shake the girls’ hands. So they started praying. And praying. And praying. By the end of the prayer, the woman was doing arm circles in the air. Oh how I love our God and the testimonies He gives us. So please continue to pray for the Q, especially these next two days during our prayer/fast. God is moving in powerful ways and we are anxiously anticipating what will come from these two days!
