The past 2 Sundays we had the privilege of visiting a new church
plant nearby: Faith Reformed Baptist Church (Nairobi). Our good
friend and former Kenyan pastor had started this new work while we were in
the US. We knew of his vision and began to pray for it years back,
but it was such a blessing to see it with our own eyes! We enjoyed
sweet fellowship and Ethiopian food at Kent’s favorite local
restaurant. YUM!
Here’s one story of God’s handiwork…
Apparently Pastor (at left above) has begun quite an outreach to youth on the
streets here. There are several young people that have come to
Christ recently and a few of them are really trying to turn their
lives around. In a city of around 3 million people with an
unemployment rate of about 40%, there are slums and neighborhoods
where crime, drugs and corruption are a way of life. This church is
not far from Kibera, listed as one of the largest slums in Africa.
If you need some idea of what that looks like here’s a UN-sponsored
video (not recommended for children please!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPuNXO7_tno
I’m familiar with the poverty and squalor a bit, but I rarely meet
someone who is saved out of it! I got to talk with a young man named
Moses, who until 3 weeks ago was homeless, jobless, doing drugs and
I don’t want to know what all else. God used our Pastor friend to
reach out to young men like him and make a difference for eternity.
He has been ‘clean’, attending and serving at church regularly, and
plans to begin his life all over again. He has enrolled himself in a
mechanic’s apprenticeship and hopes to become a private taxi driver
someday.
I was also struck by the immense generosity of our friend. Here he
is planting a church that is not ‘in the black’ yet, putting his own
children through school (2 in college right now), surviving only on
his wife’s teacher’s salary (which was on strike for a time and
unpaid yet for Jan.) and HE’S the one GIVING in ministry??!! They
are struggling to feed their family because they give so much to
others! If you ask them, they smile and say, ‘The Lord will provide.
He always does.’
God has blessed them richly with 4 believing children who not only tolerate their parent’s calling, but participate and support it. These costly sacrifices may feel invisible, but they are not. They are bearing beautiful fruit!
He always does. by Kimberly is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
4 Comments
Michelle · February 11, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Wow. Thank you so much for this reminder. I watched the video you linked to, and I remember where part of my heart is. “He always does.”
Emily · August 17, 2010 at 12:27 pm
What an awesome story of faith! May God continue to bless this family.
Laura Ingalls Gunn · August 17, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Loved this post. A great reminder that we all could give a little more.
The poverty I witnessed while in Egypt was devastating.
We are truly blessed here in the US.
Laura
“Open the Door To Your Fear”
Kelli · October 28, 2010 at 3:28 am
Wow! I really enjoyed your post! They are living biblically and that is so awesome. Giving up everything, stepping out in faith, absolute surrender, and being more concerned with God's glory than their own personal relief…that is “true religion!” I hope people could say that about me some day!
Thanks!
http://www.mothersonmission.org