The community in Kandaria is simply beautiful! We walked around Saturday morning to do some home visits (most of our visits were to orphans that House of Hope supports). [A little fact of the Kenyan culture and example of their generous hospitality: if you just want to see someone for a short visit you never tell the person in advance that you’re coming because if you do they will prepare food for you to stay all day!] The community works together to take care of everyone’s needs. There isn’t an orphanage in Kandaria because all the orphans live with family or someone in the community. We went to four different homes, each family with a different story.
First stop at Dickens’ house. Dickens is a man we’ve met before because David mentors him. He’s a young father of four beautiful girls, and he has taken in his youngest brother, George (12yrs), because their parents passed away. House of Hope has supported George since he was a young boy, and George adores David!
Pelisa is a strong woman who loves the Lord so much! She is widowed and a grandmother to 4 orphans that used to stay with her, but with her old age she’s not able to take care of the children properly anymore so they are with other family members. House of Hope is able to support one of her grandchildren! Recently Pelisa has had a lot of back problems from falling on the rocks walking up to her house. (Kandaria is a town on a mountain, so steep rock paths are their common walkways.) We had the privilege to pray for her with David translating, and so with faith we know that she will be healed! (James 5:13-18)
Michael is 14 but only in grade 6 because both his parents have passed away and nobody was around to encourage him in school. He lived with his grandparents for a little while but his grandfather beat him, and so now Joseph, a young single man who is a teacher at a local school and a pastor, has taken Michael into his home!
Angel, 11yrs, is a beautiful girl with the biggest smile!! Both her parents passed away from AIDS and she has HIV. House of Hope is able to pay for all of her medicine that goes along with having HIV and she’s doing great! She’s in a loving home with her widowed grandmother, and you would never be able to guess she’s gone through so much by meeting her!
There are around 300 orphans in Kandaria and only about 3,000 people total. Brightpoint supports about 50 orphans in the area and House of Hope is able to support 24 in Kandaria (and 36 in the whole district), but that leaves many more without much help. Even though most of the orphans do have actual homes, their basic living needs are not being provided for. Family members (usually it’s widowed grandmothers) have very little money even for themselves, and so providing for growing children is very challenging. There are countless stories of people in Kandaria that would break your heart. AND there are so many joyful stories about how God provides continuous love and hope even in the most tragic situations! My first initial reaction to all of this was “Okay, how can I help? How much money do they need? How much can I give? What can I do to solve all these problems?” A minute later the Lord reminds me that the problems are much deeper than I can imagine. No amount of money will solve all the problems. I realize that I’m asking the wrong questions- it’s not about me or what I can do to help. At the beginning of a day, God doesn’t say to first give away all our money or help everybody around us. Jesus says the first and greatest commandment is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37) Although we are called to give generously, our fulfillment (I’m recently learning) is not supposed to come from helping others. We can never be fulfilled that way! It’s not possible because God created us to be fully satisfied by Him alone. So I must be reminded that I alone can never fulfill all the needs that I see around me. First and foremost God wants my whole heart, and only then will I trust that the Holy Spirit will prompt me to give my money, my time, and my energy where needed.
I’m so thankful that I worship a God bigger than me and the problems of the people around me! I’m so thankful that this life is not about what I think I can do for people’s needs! I’m so thankful for this opportunity to open up my view of the world and of God’s love! – Forever thankful for this opportunity to experience life in Kandaria!
Ero camano ahinya (thank you so much in Luo) to all of you for your support and continue prayers!! And a BIG thank you to my Lord for breathing life into me and giving me a deeper view of His love!
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