We hardly can find the words to describe our time with the Widows in Majengo. We have some kind of special connection with these women. You should hear them sing! It’s deeply moving and it sounds like angels are singing. They are mostly old women so their song selections are Old Hymns sung in Swahili and in the local Luya language. Their harmonies are breathtaking. Both Valerie and I shared and it was unusually anointed. The Lord was moving in a powerful way.
Of course one of the highlights of the day was the distribution of a 1000 Schilling note to every widow in the house. We told the story of how several people in American felt led by the Spirit to send them aid. Thank you so much! It was a time of joyous celebration. They sang, they danced and they waved their envelopes in the air as a wave offering to the Lord.
Following this we gave out walking canes and walkers to 11 women who traded their home-made walking sticks for a brand new, state of art, cane. We photographed them for the organization that provided these things and their smiles were priceless.
Next came the meal. Beef stew, rice, cooked cabbage, potatoes and carrots and sodas. Several of the women informed us that most of these widows have not had a soda in a year, nor have they had any meat, or milk in their tea. They simply cannot afford these luxuries and usually only have them on very special occasions. One widow told us “having a soda is like Christmas.”
All day long we were bathed in God’s presence.
The widows continue to make progress on the completion of the Widows Center. Finally the doors are all on and the building is secure. Next week they will set up their sewing center and baking school offering training and sources of income to women throughout the region.
Valerie and I arrived back in Nairobi at 9pm and we are super tired. We barely slept last night due to the incessant barking of dogs just outside our widow. It seems that the neighbor pigs got out and were rooting around the neighborhood. Not a problem we have every day in Seattle. Our clothes and bodies are covered with thick layers of dust because the road from Kisumu to Majengo is totally ripped up. But it was a day worth remembering and we are blessed.
Thanks for your prayers, support and love,
Richard Vicknair