Sacrifice

Yesterday I had the opportunity to check in with one of the people that we were able to help with some funds during the riots. Her name is Monica and she runs a feeding program for orphans and needy children in Kibera. We wandered through the slum meandering up and down for about 15 minutes before we finally reached her house; a small eight by eight room. There I found a sick girl who was about seventeen that she had snatched from the streets, I prayed. Next we met some of the kids that are “just around.” Most weren’t hers but a few were. Finally she pulled back a sheet that divided the room and she said, “I have had this baby since she was two days old. Her mother died and I didn’t know what to do with her.” The baby is three months old now.

 

There is so much more to say about Monica. She doesn’t have anything of worldly value. She started feeding the children from a sympathetic heart once her husband left her. One of our past teams got to know her eldest son who is in secondary school and that is how we found out about Monica. She is a woman of faith. Full of hope that God will provide and she has seen him provide for her. I was cautious when I wrote the last sentence because when you see her it doesn’t look like God has provided; not how I would imagine His provision. But that is a lesson I often relearn here, God’s provision is what we need not what we want. He knows better than me how to provide what His people need and still I continue to imagine what will bring joy and contentment.

 

Monica feeds 250 children every day at a church that she rents during the week. Her house isn’t nearly big enough to accommodate these children. But God continues to provide as the feeding program and her adopted family grows.

 

I will write more about Monica and some of our other friends when I get home and have more time. The stories are backlogged in my brain but I haven’t been able to get them out yet. I am still trying to take it all in and process it myself.

 

Today is my last day here. I fly out tonight and today is still a very full day. Here is the agenda, at least what I know of the agenda. I am sure God will change this as the day continues.

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   Check on a piece of land to use as a farm for the orphans and the school. It is about an hour outside of town.
  
  
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  Connect with the lawyer about the status of our registration as a Non-governmental Organization
  
  
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  Go visit an orphanage for disabled children. We are hoping to be able to help them when our teams are in town.
  
  
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  I still have a couple friends to connect with, one being my favorite taxi driver Ronald.
  
  
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  Visit a micro finance group that some friends in Kibera are a part of to see how it is going and to encourage them.
  
  
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  Take a few more pictures and take care of a few other details from our Kenyan staff.

 

Thanks for your encouragement and prayers while I have been here.