A Big Heart

October 11^th, 2011 Tuesday

Here in the slums no one has privacy. There isn’t a time to talk together without someone listening. Each shelter connects to the next with only a piece of sheet metal as a separation between the homes. There are eyes watching those that come and go through your doorway. There are ears that hear the words you speak. Life is very open for all to see.

“Flashing” is the word used here instead of abortion. The woman finds a doctor that will give her something to take that kills the baby. The baby is delivered dead and placed in a plastic dish pan. There will be no burial. There will be no tears but a fast pace walk with eyes downward to the latrine.

October 12, 2011 Wednesday

Within the crowds of people coming and going within the slums we stop now and then for a familiar face. We have visited many here and each day brings new challenges. Each day we meet more people that are hurting and in great need. The homes we enter are very much the same. Each unit has one door and one very small push out wooden window. The doorway will have a piece of cloth hanging in it for privacy during the daylight hours. It also serves as a buffer against the pesty flies. Inside there will be a couple wooden stools or a chair or two. A coffee table sits tightly between the chairs and the small bed. It becomes the table for their meals. On the floor at the end of the bed will be the kitchen dishes, glasses and water jug along with the little charcoal burner or stove. Extra belongings that one might have are stacked and covered. They are kept out of sight of others.

The day was going much as I expected. It was not unusual for a day in the slums until I walked into this wet alley way. It was small and narrow but we didn’t walk far from the road. Once inside this dark room my eyes started to adjust and I could see clearly. There were babies everywhere I looked. There were two large handmade cribs each holding 6 babies. There were babies on the mats on the floor. Some were sleeping, some were happy to see us and then there was one that didn’t like the white woman at all! A Kenyan woman cares for twenty babies all under the age of two. Evelyn’s heart is big and full of love. Please remember to pray for her. We had been walking with a bag of slipper socks that my mom, Charlotte Towne, had made. The babies will now have warm feet at night when they go to sleep. Over 118 slipper socks will warm the feet of little ones in Africa this year and there are more slipper socks on the way! Thank you

October 13, 2011 Thursday

The clouds were heavy above us today as we walked within the very familiar pathways of the slums. As we walked through the area where illicit brew is made my eyes fell upon a woman with a business beside the dusty road. Her small vegetable stand was built over the flowing stench. Garbage was molded into the earth around her by the many feet walking through it within a day’s time. Tomorrow will find a few more heaps added to it. She finds a piece of cardboard and puts it down near her stand. She relaxes on her piece of cardboard while sitting in the midst of the rubbish. With her feet nearly touching the top of the human waste, running like a brook in spring, she relaxes and begins to eat.

We walk into the area were we had a crusade in 2005. The area is very much the same. It is open low land with garbage running up the sides. Women stand in the midst of the garbage selling their tomatoes, kale, or carrots to those that can afford to buy.

Further into the day we visit a woman with 5 little girls. Helen is her husband’s first and oldest wife, he has three. She is feeling unloved, bitter and angry at what life has brought her. Carol has 2 little girls her husband has left her. There is a time of sharing and praying with both women. Their hardened faces full of pain and rejection start to soften. There is hope for a better tomorrow.

We carried a bag of bright orange and green shoes with us today. They were just the right size for these little girls. I was having a hard time making friends with one of them until she saw the shoes! She would not come near me the whole time I was there. She refused to smile and even though the others touched me and shook my hand she still kept her distance. When the shoes were placed on the table though that little hand reached out for mine. We are friends now. (A special thank you to my sister, Laura Lee Robbins, and the Yellow Zebra for the colorful children’s shoes)

October 16, 2011 Sunday

It was a day of worship with voices of praise going heavenward. Having a sound system turned up to full volume is the African way. Loud is better and distortion has a new meaning here! Today was different though. The last bit of our walk going toward the church was so quiet. There was a power shut down today for 9 hours in certain sections of Nairobi. Our praise service consisted of only voices singing out to God. It was a very beautiful thing to hear.

The children came to S.S. with their New Testaments today. There was so much excitement as they turned the pages. They followed the scripture verse by verse. They have such a strong desire to learn. It amazes me to listen to the knowledge they already have at such a young age. (A special thank you to Craig Hardy for the New Testaments)

We prayed for one of our young boys this morning. He is around 10 years old and was sent to the hospital yesterday. The first doctor that treated him suggested that he might have meningitis. He sent him to a bigger hospital as the child is seriously ill. We are waiting to hear more. Please remember to pray for him.

The church service was left in my hands today as the pastor traveled to his home land in Kakamega. It is time for the national testing for his oldest daughter and nephew. It will be one month of continuous testing over every subject. A student must finish with a grade of C+ or better to be able to continue their education at the university level. The pastor will be praying for all the students before they begin this time of exams.

Jackie prepared a lunch for us after the service. Six adults and three children filled her home. The meal was ready and hot when we arrived. Rice, beans and cabbage filled us all right to the top. There were many topics discussed as we chatted the afternoon away. There was a time of seriousness with questions being asked that had trouble and confused some. There was a time of reflecting on the goodness of God. There was a time of just laughing and being one. The family of God warms the heart.

This morning as we walked I asked Japheth how his day was going. It is good, was his reply. Then he went on to explain. I woke up this morning opened my eyes and saw light. So I said glory to God I am alive another day!

Proverbs 5:21 For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths.