I’m in complete amazement of all the things that God is
teaching and showing me. I am constantly humbled by how little I really need in
order to getby. When I think about the American
lifestyle verses the African lifestyle I’m shocked at how much we take for
granted. Yet, at the same time I am reminded of how little we need. It’s
definitely eye opening to live simply. It makes you really appreciate what you
have and allows you to realize how truly blessed we really are. As Americans,
we’ve learned the ways of the world, but not the ways of God. In fact, since
being in Kenya
I’ve seen more God in these broken people than I ever thought was possible.
When we go and visit people in the IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camps and
hand out bags of ugali to the parents and buns to the children we are
constantly invited in to their homes for chai or a meal.
Now the image you have of a home in the US is much
different than the homes these families live in. Allow me to revamp your image.
Try a tarp held up by two sticks. Their belongings consist of the clothes on
their back, a blanket that covers the ground, a water jug, a pot to cook in,
cups, and that’s it. Others have houses that remind me of the brick house in
the story the three little pigs, but these bricks are just big rocks. These
people are in such great need and yet they offer us pretty much all they have.
Most of the parents can’t find work, money is hard to come by, and they have
one bag of ugali (two kilograms) to feed six or more mouths for a week.
I’m reminded of the widow’s offering in the Bible in Mark
12:41-44. “Jesus sat down opposite the place
where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the
temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came
and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus
said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than
all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty,
put in everything-all she had to live on.””
Many of the people living in the IDP camps aren’t believers,
but yet they demonstrate such giving hearts you’d think they were followers. To
give you a better illustration of what this would look like in the US just
imagine a homeless man who lives in a box offer you all that he has instead of
offering it to his four kids. Here’s the kicker though, to top it all off the
man doesn’t even know Christ. It’s crazy to that my team members and I encounter
this virtually everyday. I’m so humbled by their giving hearts and so thankful
that God is touching their lives just as much as they are touching ours. I feel
God in the touch of the children’s hands and it warms my heart. I hear God in
the laughter of the children when we play with them. I see God move and
transform their lives when we visit their homes. The conversations of the Lord and
how he wants them to be in relationship with Him break down walls in their
life. All praise be to God for the mighty work he is doing in these beautifully
broken people’s lives.
