They Come Running

January 18 -23, 2010

The days are filled with going house to house throughout the slums of Kawangware. Leaving the winter behind I remind myself not to complain of the heat that beats down. It is dry, dusty and the smells continue to take over the land.

Typhoid has disabled one man and we are asked to visit and pray. Many others need prayer for a job to bring food into their homes. A woman is taken to the hospital to give birth. The doctor cuts the umbilical in the wrong plus. Now a 3 month old baby suffers with an abnormal belly button and intestines have got caught within.

As we leave the slums in the evening we are packed into a matatu for the ride home. It is a common mode of travel here in Africa. Traffic jams the roads as many are leaving the city of Nairobi at the finish of the day. Many a driver will leave the lane of safe travel and travel on the side of the road or make another land down the middle. Our driver decided to save time and began his route down the middle of the road. He was dodging in and out trying to make headway. Moments like these always put you in the mode of prayerJ Very suddenly the dodging in and out came to an end. A police man stepped from the stopped traffic into the path of the matatu! We were pulled to the side. Everyone had to exit the matatu and find another ride. The driver was arrested.

Friends arrive from Masai Land that I have not seen since 2005. With them staying a few doors down from me it gave us time to catch up on news. It is a time of sharing how God has protected them. How he has blessed them to see their vision come to be. Their school to educated pastors will open next month. Along with their home & a place for guests the compound includes a kitchen, dorm and small library. Ken & Sandy Taylor have worked hard, even through some extreme challenges. Their dedication will bless many and the word of God will spread throughout the land.

On Wednesday we traveled into Ebby's plot and visited with those in the area. She has just moved into a new home. With great excitement she begins to cook sukumawiki and ugali for us. The first to visit are always prepared a meal. We are the first visitors into her home. We visit others close by. Many are confused because of wrong teaching. We are thankful that two young girls accepted the Lord.

The ground is dry and cracked but the rivers of human waste still flow. Children sit by the road with their sticks. They play in such rivers to pass the time. Pigs have escaped from their fencing. They cool their bodies in these dark rivers.

The school children sit under my care for a short time. One by one they recite their numbers. Their faces shine knowing that someone has noticed them.

The church guard and his wife prepare food for me to eat. While enjoying the coolness of their home he shares his treasures with me. From the corner of the small one room home he pulls a Bible we sent from America. Then a spiral note book that was given to him before I left. This note book is full of scripture notes now. He plans to pass it on to his children. The last thing is a course on leadership that was provided to a few last year. He has completed this course and is rejoicing. It has always been his prayer that he could one day learn. In his hands he holds the answer to his prayers.

Collins an orphan and once a street boy was rescued by the church. The church has cared for him making sure he has food and a place to sleep. The pastor oversees him like him own. Without the extra to give they have managed to see him get an education through 8^th grade. Here in Kenya if one is to continue on in education after 8^th grade he must pass a standard test. Collins took that test and scored very high. Now he prays and trusts that the Lord will send in the funds needed for him to stay in school.

I met Jackie on my very first visit to Kawangware in 2005. I was taken over a drainage brook and down an alley way into a small home. Jackie sat in the one chair beside the bed. She had just given birth to a little girl and there had been complications. Surgery was necessary for Jackie but they didn't have the funds. Jackie is a testimony of how God hears and answers prayer. She is active in the church, a wife & mother of two beautiful girls. She also helps teach the children at the church school in the slums. Just recently she started a little business outside her home area. She wakes up early before teaching and goes to the open market to buy some vegetables for her stand. Jackie was completely healed.

We pray for so many it is hard to remember all the names. When walking I am sometimes stopped and greeted. Remember me? You prayed for me. I am better! God is so goodJ

We met one woman yesterday that I didn't recognize. She was standing outside talking and smiling with friends. She didn't show any evidence of pain or of being sick. We had stopped to visit and pray for her the day before. She was a very thin woman. Her children were huddled around her chair as she held onto her chest in pain. She was weak, with a tight cough, and complaining that her lungs hurt. I viewed her as being very ill. I was amazed at how good she looked J

There are so many children here. The challenges they face are alarming but they are full of joy. The happy voices I hear trailing behind me makes me smile inside and out. They come running from all directions. I seem to collect them as I walk about. We have a little squabble now and then over who is going to hold my hand!

The week is almost over and we have come to the end of another day in the slums. The road ways are full of people. It is hot. We are thirsty and tired. From someone up ahead I hear "Welcome Home Pastor". Pastor Shuls from Kibera slums and Pastor Alfred from Kawangware slums have spotted a white woman in the crowd! One they recognize. It is so good to see them and all my friends here in Kenya once again J