Together in Kenya: Jump starting for the next leg of the journey.

August 23, 2012

We’ve been looking at the situation here in Nakuru and asking God to redirect our steps. I believe He is doing just that. We’ve met some wonderful people with like minds and hearts who say to us in so many words, “I quit my life”. (as Katie in the book Kisses from Katie says). They have and are daily denying themselves to be disciples of Christ in all aspects of their lives. We want to join with them as God leads to further the gospel of the Kingdom of God in all the earth.

We’re learning many things. No matter how hard we try to know what we are doing and to formulate hard and fast plans we always come back to the point of doing what we’ve always done. Following Christ who rarely tells us where we’re going or what we’re doing.

To quote T. A. Sparks,

…. the Apostles did not formulate in conference an enterprise, a mission, with all the related arrangements and organization. The new Life forced off the old leaves and dressed the new organism with a new vesture from within. The might, energy and urge of the Holy Spirit within produced a Way and an order, un-thought-of, unintended by them, and always to their own surprise. What was happening was really that Christ was taking form within them, individually and corporately, by new birth and growth. The believers and the companies were becoming an expression of Christ.

Some of the stories of just one week will help you see what we are experiencing here in Nakuru. This has been a full week.

Noah has been sick for a couple of weeks with a head cold. He’s doing ok but tires easily. This has been a very exhausting 4 months with a lot of stress and strain. We’re coming out of the adversity but it’s been a fight. We’ve had a lot of encouragement from family, friends and acquaintances here and at home.

Yesterday we met with Susan. She has a community church. That means they don’t have a building but meet on the streets where they live. The local Christian Churches won’t allow these kinds of people in their services so she goes to them. She takes care of street kids and families by educating them, feeding them, teaching and preaching. She was raised on the streets until she was saved by God. Her mother made illegal beer for a living and passed the trade on to her. Street people listen to her because they know she understands the desperation of their lives because she lived it. She knows what it’s like to jump over walls running from the police. She brings them hope and they love her.

In her ministry she’s worked with several different churches and missionaries to help these people. Their support has always been short lived and she’s been put out because of the type of ministry she has is not beneficial to their purpose of prosperity and individual success. She has no bitterness towards anyone. She says when they put her out it’s just God moving her on. She told us she’s not wanting our money but she needs someone to join with that will encourage her and help her hear God about what to do.

Her husband abandoned her and her 3 children when he got money from a church he was working at. After the money was gone he returned to sit in her house and do nothing. As she was telling us about this she kept saying, “I’ve never told anyone about all this.” Her heart felt safe and open with us.

A Story one of many - Dump man dies in her arms.

Susan went to visit the people that live in the dump. Yes, the place where all the garbage in the city is taken. People live there to get the leftover food and stuff discarded by more fortunate Kenyans. Many people are there, living in cardboard houses and caves without hope. One day she visited a very sick man who lived in one of those caves. She prayed for him but she knew if he didn’t get medical help soon he would surely die. So she went to one of the dump truck drivers and asked if he would take this man to the hospital. He agreed so she went back to the cave and put the man on her back to carry him to the truck. She got him into the truck and cradled him in her arms with his head resting on her chest for the bumpy ride to the hospital. When they got there as they put the man on a stretcher and took him to a hospital room they realized he had died in route.

Susan didn’t know what to do. If someone is brought dead to the hospital it becomes a police investigation. She was afraid for the dump people that someone would be accused of causing his death. Even she might be accused but that was nothing to her. She would take the blame before she would have someone else accused. Just then a nurse came in. She said, “I know this woman, she is a good woman.” She defended Susan so the investigation was dropped and the man was taken to the mortuary. Susan believes she was sent there to ease the loneliness of that dear soul as he passed from this life and to save the people of the dump from investigations. Her love is strong for these people. She is to me another “mother Teresa”, going to the poorest of the poor with the love of Christ.

We finished our tea and punch Susan took us to the Railway station to show us where she feeds the boys that live there. We’re planning a time to get up early one day to take the love of Christ, in word and deed to these boys. She always feeds their spirits first then brings the food. The meager breakfast we’ll feed them consists of a cup tea and a slice or two of bread. They are grateful.

We went back into town to meet Thomas and James for lunch. Thomas raises and sells chickens at Top Market where we get our produce and organic fish and chicken. The first chicken he sold me turned out to be a sick one. Our cook Mary recognized this and refused to cook it. When I met Thomas later I asked him about it. He apologized profusely and insisted on giving me another chicken. Seeing his honesty I told him he didn’t have to do that. He still insisted and to this day sends us gifts of chickens and fruit from the market. He’s not a wealthy man, he lives in the slums but he knows no lack and his family is well cared for.

Many pastors here consider themselves above working a job. They feel like being “God’s man” excludes them of the responsibility of providing for their family. Their wives work to earn the living. Thomas is a pastor too and serves his church together with 4 other elders. He believes a godly man should work for his family’s needs. So he does. His wife has a little kiosk at her house to supplement the income but she doesn’t have to leave home.

James is another hard working man and an indigenous missionary. He has a school for underprivileged children. He has churches in nomadic Masai and Samburu villages. He has given himself to reach people in the cities and village. His wife also teaches at the school. They have over 75 children and only 4 teachers. They get volunteer teachers but since they aren’t committed their help is very sporadic. James and his wife, Beatrice, have been working together as missionaries planting churches and schools for many years and have accomplished a lot to further the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Some of the places they go are impassable by motor vehicles so they travel by camel. Their purpose is to equip others to continue to reach people.

So after we had lunch we offered to take Thomas and James home. We’re learning you don’t just drop someone off at their house. You must go in and eat something, meet the family, and pray a blessing on the house. This is their custom. Like I said we had just finished lunch so we weren’t hungry. James’ wife gave us some bananas to take home. She told us that Kenyans always share what food they have with visitors. If they don’t have any that’s ok too, but we must share what we have. It’s also a custom for visitors to bring a small gift of food such as fruit, milk, or bread. It’s easy to get a bag of oranges or mangos on the street on your way to someone’s house, for only about a dollar. We’re learning.

Now Thomas and James live close to each other but didn’t know it until today. They were brought together at the Pastor’s teaching Noah does on Wednesday mornings. So of course Thomas insisted we go to his house too. James also jumped in the car. He wanted to see where Thomas lives. We told Thomas we couldn’t stay longer than 5 minutes. His little compound consists of a chicken farm with about 1000 chickens being raised for the family business he shares with his brother, the little kiosk his wife runs, and a small three room house. We sat down in his living room and were served sodas they bought for us. We said we have to go now, but Thomas said his wife was cooking us a meal. We had to insist. We really needed to go. Noah has a head cold. He’s our driver which is a big job. So we wanted to get him home to rest. We thanked them for the sodas, took Thomas to his job at Top Market, and then went home.

Home is so peaceful and we find refuge from city life here. We’re only 12 minutes away from the busiest part of town. We enjoy flowers, trees, kids and a dog. We do our own cooking and cleaning and it really feels like we belong here.

Our ‘cottage family’, Patrick and Christine and their 5 kids are always there to greet us and help us in any way. We, in turn, have given them a way out of the slums. We assist them with educating the children, providing the bare necessities and food to eat, as they help us maintain the property. We wish we could do more but we will wait on God’s leading and provision. We do know that to bring them up too fast won’t give them time to learn how to manage their increased lifestyle. So we talk and train as best we know how. It would be easy for them to make us the head of their family. We don’t want that. We want to teach them how to take responsibility for their families’ needs as they grow together.

Mostly we enjoy family fellowship together. Their curiosity is fun to watch. Yesterday, Flora stood looking at my small, sparsely stocked (according to American standards) pantry. Finally she asked, “Do you use all that?” She’s never known more than a days’ worth of food in the house at a time. She’s 17 years old.

We had a slumber party with Kate and Christine's younger kids.

Noah and Zach fixed our leaning chair.

I hope this gives you a picture of how things are going here now. Doug and Zach are going home next week. We’re really going to miss them. They’ve been so much help and we’ve leaned on both of them a lot. We love them and will miss them so much.