We made our way through the narrow corridors of the Kibera Slums, being very careful not to slip in the mud and fall into one of the ditches which were running swiftly with slim and sewage. The heavy rains of last night had turned the whole place into a mud pit. In various places we had to turn sideways and squeeze ourselves between the buildings and try to keep our clothes clean. Finally we arrived at our Kara Kibera Children’s School and Feeding Center.
John and Mary Idagiza started a church in the facility five years ago and it is now a vibrant place of celebration and worship. The adults alone fill every chair in the building, but there are four times as many children as adults on a Sunday morning. After all, this is a “Kid Place”, and almost all of the children who are fed and taught here come to the Church each week. Some of the children sit in little chairs anywhere they can, but most of them are just outside of the building, peeking through the windows and dancing along with the adults. At one point all the kids came in and filled every inch of the front of the church as they sang for us and quoted Bible verses.
In spite of the smells and the disgusting conditions of the slum, Valerie and I have become quite comfortable here. It truly is an Oasis in the Desert! Recently I have had the distinct sense that “This is the place where Jesus would come if he were walking in Nairobi”. He had a tendency to come to the places where there was the most need of healing and love and this is it! I can just picture him walking through the same narrow corridors and making his way to this place.
Three weeks ago, the staff of the Center and I suddenly realized that we could double the capacity of the Children’s Feeding Center by adding an upper floor to our existing building. Today we were presented with an architectural design and found out that we could do this for a measly $9500. It actually blew my mind that such a thing could happen with such a small price tag. How awesome it would be to double our capacity for feeding children and create twice the space downstairs for a dining hall, fellowship hall, medical camps and other events. This has now become one of our dreams for 2016. I just know that there is someone out there, or several someones, who would like to use some of their treasure to build something that will minister to children and poor people for many years to come. Something to pray about!
What a special day we had. Another 3 ½ hour service, but I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else on the planet. After the service Valerie and I took 17 of the church leaders out to dinner. Most of them have not been out to dinner since last year when we did the same. This is the way it is when you live on a couple of dollars a day.
I am overwhelmed that we have the privilege to touch the lives of so many precious people.
All our love to you, dear friends,
Richard and Valerie