A Street Boy's Sermon

February 9, 2017, Thursday

Each bump we hit as we traveled toward the mountain made us aware that this was going to be the norm from here on up. In fact, it got much worse. The car rattled to the point I worried something might break, we had seen the last of paved roads. Our mission today was to meet with a pastor who was holding his services on one of Mount Elgon’s slopes. 

This extinct volcano covers 494 square feet.  It sits in two countries, Kenya and Uganda and is known for its elephant caves. It fills the skyline and has endless slopes and valleys rich in native culture.  Fields of light green sugar cane decorate the base adding beauty to the dry and dusty land.

Cows saunter lazily along the roadside and even take ownership of the road not carrying a bit that they have brought us to a standstill. They stare at us, head on and seem to be deaf to the toot of a horn.

As we ride in the midst of a cloud of dust one can almost hear the earth crying out for a drop of rain. The dry season came early this year, and in some parts of the country, it has brought death to their door. Food prices have and continue to increase; it will become more difficult for many families to have food.

Native homes made of rock and mud dot the slopes around us and blend in with the earth in the valley below us.  The modernized homes, those with iron sheets on their roofs, reflect the sun like a mirror.

We climbed upward and then down into another valley and up the other side. The prominent red soil began to disappear, and white sand covered the roadway.  The ground beneath us had a mixture of tiny rocks that glistened like diamonds under the Kenyan sun.  The road out of the valley was steep, and soon it started to close in on us.  The route we traveled got narrower, and rocks too big to ride over began to show themselves. 

The thought of our vehicle passing over the trodden footpath before us was a bit alarming, but my driver assures me that we can make it.  We quickly roll up our windows as the thorn bushes slide against the sides of our car. 

The thorn bushes pushed back by our car quickly bounce back into the pathway, as we enter an opening.  Big boulders decorate this once volcanic mountain, and there is evidence of lava rock around us.  Large cactus plants separate the church land from the acres of garden land beside it.

Several church people are are waiting for me on wooden benches under the open sky.  It doesn’t take long for the word to get out that I’ve arrived and the neighbors hurry to welcome me.  Soon a wooden couch from someone’s home is being carried through the bushes and placed in the front of the church for me to sit on.  A mama takes the corner of her wrap and gives it a good dusting before I’m allowed to sit.

The sun is mid sky and burns down on us as we stand to sing a couple of songs. There isn’t a roof over their head, but their hearts release praises to the Lord.  

February 10, 2017, Friday

My days have been full, and it was necessary to take the time to run into town to buy some food. I was trying to make it a quick trip as I had a lot to do and I was also a bit tired from the journey into the mountain the day before.  The sidewalks were busy with people coming and going.  Construction piles were here and there as a new store was in the process of being built.  Men with motorbikes lined the roads in hopes to see someone that needs a ride.  Mama’s sit beside the roadway with tomatoes, onions, bananas, avocados and veggies of all kinds trying to catch you before you enter the store. It’s like walking through a maze trying to get in and out of a store.

  

I finished my shopping and was walking away somewhat tired of all the hustle and bustle and ready to get to a more quiet place when Wilson, a street boy that I’ve known for years, spots me.  Mama Linda, Mama Linda, enters my ears and soon I have a 6’ skinny street boy with filthy clothes walking beside me, and he wants something to drink. 

I shake my head and say not today.  I'd already been in the store, and I didn’t want to go back through all the traffic and vendors.  I hear, “Please, Mama Linda.”  Feeling torn inside but knowing how tired I was I said  - not today another time Wilson. Wilson isn’t willing to give up because he knows I usually will help him.  Next, I hear;  “Mama Linda, do it for Jesus!”  That stopped me in my tracks.  “Do it for Jesus!”    

Wilson and I walked to place serving food, and he not only got something to drink, but he went on his way with something to eat as well!   Today I heard a touching sermon from a street boy that I will remember for a long time.  “Do it for Jesus!”

Psalm 97:5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.