The Need Is Great

Tuesday, January 6, 2009, Pastor Joseph & I are dropped off at the busiest spot in the center of Nairobi.  Buses line both sides of the very active streets.  People are dodging traffic as they venture to cross to the other side.  We begin our walk through the maze of people.  There are more people than there are vehicles and vehicles are jamming the streets.  We hurriedly walk several streets going down toward the river area. In the midst of all the people and traffic we meet a couple without legs. With shoes on their hands they move their bodies along side the busy road.

 

We enter an area known as the "Import Area" where goods are unloaded for the wholesalers.  Large trucks are unpacking goods. The sidewalks are piled with boxes.  The streets with torn up pavement begin to narrow.  We pass one alley that has become the dumping ground.  Many people are rummaging through the mounds of debris.  We enter a dark and narrow hallway and start our way up several flights of stairs. Each stair is holding the evidence of many people coming and going.  At each level there are rows and rows of laundry hanging in the open air. We go up more stairs and my eyes hit the open sky. We have reached the highest level of the building. We enter one small room, the home of Pastor Joseph & Gladys. Fruit, bread, and tea are served.  We enjoy our time of food and fellowship.  After our bodies are energized we walk to the other side of the river.   This is known as the Grogan area.

 

Grogan area is where the street boys and girls live.  This area has "leaders" instead of parents and "gangs' instead of families. Here no one ever gives their real name.  The street boys have a reputation for stealing, robbery, rape and murder.

 

As we walk down the hill the sheet metal structures along the river side are in view. Merchants selling their goods fill the sidewalks and every inch of free earth they can find.  The river is full of debris and waste products.  We cross the river and enter a land that many fear to go.

 

We stop and talk to three young mothers sleeping on the ground. Their babies are nursing beside them.  Another small baby sleeps in a round plastic dish pan. Benson a cute 7 month old baby gives me the biggest smile as he tightly holds onto my finger.  One girl wears the scars of knife wounds.  We share the salvation message and leave the gospel bracelets with them.  Within minutes one of the gang leaders arrives.  We talk and I also tell him the gospel story.  He refuses the bracelet.  Many are curious to see what is going on.  All are told the gospel story.  They wear their beaded bracelets proudly.

 

We take a break from the hot sun and sit inside the sheet metal church. Pastor Joseph & Gladys have worked in this area with the street kids for eight years.  As we rest many of the smaller children come and join us.

 

We continue to walk through the maze of sheet metal, cardboard, and pieces of torn cloth used as a source of shelter.  We stop and talk with many along the way.   We walk through garbage and broken glass.  The forest is on one side of us and rows and rows of broken down matatus & vehicles on the other.  A vast graveyard of vehicles follows the winding river.  The forest is lacking trees.  They have been cut down in hopes that it would make the area safer. The forest has been known to be a very evil and dangerous place.

 

Our sunlight starts to fade and we know we must leave.  One young mother hands me a gift of fruit to take with me.  We walk back to the Pastor's home and rejoice together.  We pray and thank God for the 5 men and 2 women that asked Jesus into their heart today. We discuss some follow up methods and a time when we can meet again.

 

With a chuckle and a big smile Pastor Joseph tells me that anyone in this area that would harass me goes to his church J

                                 

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It is Wednesday and again Kawangware is beneath my feet. As we walk through the 'Congo" area we are stopped by a man that wants prayer.  The drink no longer satisfies. It doesn't fill the void.  He asks Jesus into his heart.

 

We visit Rose, a woman who asked Jesus into her heart when I first arrived in Kawangware.  Rose now radiates happiness and peace.  While visiting a man enters. It is one of her old drinking buddies.  He tells us he wants what Rose has found.  Right then & there he asks Jesus into his heart.  He shows us to his home so that we can visit him again.  His wife is told about the decision her husband has made.  She also asks Jesus into her heart.

 

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Thursday I returned to the river side of Nairobi.  I spent the day with Pastor Joseph & Gladys.  We ministered within their apartment complex.  We shared the gospel with prostitutes, children, mamas, and men of all ages.  Through door to door visitation 10 people accepted Jesus into their heart.

 

One young woman woke that very morning wondering if she would go to heaven if she died.  When we knocked on her door she had many questions to ask.

 

Another man asked us to prove what we had told him was true.  With the Bible placed in his hands we had him read aloud John 3:16, John 10:10, John 14:1-3, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23.   After reading the scriptures he accepted Jesus into his heart along with two other family members.

 

For many it was the first time they had ever heard that Jesus died on the cross for them.  The need for the word of God within this area is great.  I see the desire in many to learn more.

 

Isaiah 58:10-12

 

..if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun – scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail…..you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.