This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask we know that we have what we asked of Him.
1 John 5:14-15
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us.
Ephesians 3:20
I have been in Kenya for about 3 weeks now. I am going home tomorrow. I always feel sad a day or two in advance of my departure as I never know when exactly I will be back. However, I do believe that God will make a way for me to return if it is His desire that I return.
I had only notions of a holiday of rest and recuperation on this trip because the the past year has been mentally and physically exhausting due to health issues of my own and of my loved ones also. It has been a taxing year in every way. I didn't have a whole lot of advance planning or funds to do some good works which I always love to do when I visit Kenya. I won't go into details but I had even less funds than I anticipated due to some challenges just prior to departure and shortly after my arrival. I didn't think I would be able to do much here in Kenya besides visiting the little boy Kigen who I so much wanted to see at the Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital (
read more about him here). I hope to say more about Kigen in the coming weeks and give you an update about him and his family.
But you know God is so gracious and good to us. I've learned that if I just do whatever I am able and whatever he puts before me without struggle and anxiety, He will honour that. In this instance, it meant going to Nakura town from time to time where I am staying in Kenya. It meant paying attention to the homeless on the street and talking to them as the Lord provided opportunities. It meant showing love and kindness to whomever crossed my path. It was in this way that I met a young boy whom I had met when I was last in Nakuru 6 months ago. I instantly remembered him due to his ready smile. I learned that his name is Moses and he hails originally from a northern town which I've written about on this blog from time to time. The town of Marigat.
A day or two after reconnecting with Moses, I also met his friend named Hillary Joseph and took them both to lunch along with an artist friend named, Sammy. Over dinner, I learned that the boys were living together in a small shack just outside of the city and they both wanted badly to go to school. Though I couldn't help them with their school needs, I did ask them if they were hungry and took them to dinner for hot food and a drink. Over dinner I learned a bit more about them and how they were fending for themselves. Hillary in particular was insistent that he wanted to go to school. I explained that I could not personally help them but that I would be praying for them to find a donor. Sammy and I both encouraged them to stay strong in faith and go to church. I also encouraged them not to listen to the young boys and men on the street who taunted them and tried to pressure them into taking drugs. To try to encourage them further, I shared about my own personal story of trials and tribulations as a child and how I believed God helped me to have a hope and a future. I told them that they too could have a better future if they continued believing in God. That night as I left them I noticed that Hillary was sniffling with a cold and gave him a small sum of money to buy Vicks and told him I would pray for him to get better soon.
The very next day I ran into the boys again. This time they had a friend named Martin with them.
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| From left to right, Martin, Hillary Joseph and Moses waiting for lunch at the Guava Cafe. |
At one time all of these boys lived together in an orphanage but now none of them was a resident there. Moses and Hillary in particular wanted to learn academics and go to school but since they had no money and no adults to care for them, they were begging on the streets daily for their survival and the life was hard. Martin was doing small jobs here and there finding whatever work he could to pay for his daily bread. Martin did not live with the boys but knew them from the orphanage and connected with them from time to time. Apparently, at the orphanage they were all trained in singing and keyboard playing but they didn't receive any real academic training. Instead the children were being trained as performers and were bussed around the country to perform. They were driven from town to town and after performing would sleep on their transport bus overnight before journeying on to their next destination and performance. Eventually all of the boys ran away from this life to try to find a better life.
The two boys I had fed the night before were very happy when I saw them again. Hillary in particular, was beaming from ear to ear and telling me how well he had slept after my prayers for him. I invited all three boys to join me at one of the cafes catering to foreigners; the Cafe Guava. I guess it was their first time at the cafe and they were so very happy to be eating there even though it was only chips and a soda. Again I encouraged them to trust in God and to have faith. No matter what happened, whether they were to go to school or not, I encouraged them to trust in God for a better future. I gave them more real life examples of how God undertakes.
After lunch I took the boys to the street market and bought them some winter jackets as they were both shivering and cold the night before. It had even been cold in my hotel room though I had a number of blankets and these boys didn't have bedding so you can imagine how cold it was for them. They were so happy to receive their new jackets and were joyfully modelling them to one another. As for Martin, I offered him a jacket too but he said he would take a shirt instead.
That same day, I met a blogging buddy for the very first time in person (more about this later) while at the cafe. I introduced her to the boys and asked her if she would also remember them in prayer. Later that night she wrote me and told me that the boys were on her prayer list.
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| From left to right: Hillary Joseph, Moses and Moses. |
On my way to the cafe for a drink I passed by another little boy. He begged for food as he was hungry. I wanted to feed him but I thought I would come back to him and look after him on my way back to the market place in a very short while. In the meantime, the restaurant I thought I was going to was closed, so I ended up at another cafe close by.
The boys came back with Moses while I was having a refreshment and I invited them all to join me for chips and juice or a hot drink. They gladly did so. As we sat down, along came the boy I had passed by earlier. I waved at him to join us. I learned that his name was Clinton and he was very hungry as well as cold since it started to rain just moments before.
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| Here is Clinton after having a dinner of beef stew, rice and vegetables and a hot drink of cocoa. Isn't the glory on his face so lovely? I felt very protective of this little one. He is 13 years old and the 2nd eldest in his family. He seemed so alone and forgotten. I am sure he enjoyed the fellowship of some adults and the two older boys who he knew in passing as they all beg on the streets. Please pray for him that he will be able to go to school. |
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| Here are Hillary Joseph and Moses proudly displaying their new lantern or torch light. This is a rechargeable lamp. It doesn't need to be plugged in when it is on and it will last several days before needing to be recharged. When it needs to be recharged there are neighbours who can help the boys. I tested the lamp and it gives off excellent light. |
My adult friend Moses suggested that I purchase some groceries for young Clinton to take home and bless his family. I was happy to do that as it was in my heart to do so but I didn't quite know how to do it. My concern was not only what to buy, but how the young (and small) boy would actually get the groceries home. After a short discussion, we settled on a list of food items and a way for the boy to get home after the shopping expedition. I asked my adult friend Moses if he would go with the young boy to do the shopping and he agreed. After spending the afternoon together, my friend was very keen to encourage the young boys and to help them in whatever small ways he could. He also showed me a proposal he was working on for a business plan to help orphans in this city of Nakuru. I told him I would pray for his vision to come to life.
Now for the best news of all. After we sat down to eat, young Hillary was smiling broadly and told me how they had looked for me the day before because they had news that God had answered prayer. It turns out a young man from the United Kingdom had met them on the street the day before yesterday. After finding out that the boys are believers and that they go to church and do not sniff glue like others on the street, he offered to put them both in school. On Sunday, he will take the boys to buy the school uniforms and the shoes they need as well as books they will need. On Monday he will take them and register them in school and look after whatever else they need. He has even agreed to send money to help the boys with their daily support needs while they are going to school. God is great. Praise His Name!
Hillary was beaming throughout the telling of this wonderful news and I could not contain my excitement and joy at how marvelously and quickly, God has answered the prayers of myself and others for these young boys. Prayers to give the boys a hope and a future. Not only that, but the boys had a second offer of assistance from a man who comes from South America. But as they already had a donor they informed the visitor that they did not need his generous offer of help as God had already provided for them. Imagine this abundance of blessings when the boys had been trying years to get sponsors.
God is so wonderful and has shown such love to these boys by providing for them and demonstrating his abundance. Their joy was manifest on their faces as they related to me the story of their blessings and they told me how much I had helped them. At that point of course, I became somewhat teary eyed by the goodness of God. After sharing with them and after tears all around, we took our leave from one another and offered to pray for one another until we meet again. My adult friend Moses, has offered to keep me regularly informed by email about the boys' progress and also to teach them to use the internet so that they can keep in touch with me directly. I look forward to hearing more about how the are enjoying school and how the Lord is blessing them. I will continue to pray for wisdom, provision and protection for these boys.
