Map of the compounds around Kitwe

Kait hangin out with Beatrice at Sara Rose Orphanage

When I left America, I knew that I would gain a lot of perspective on the way people live and how things are done. What I was not prepared for was how much perspective I would get. When we were at the Boys Ranch on Thursday I was just amazed at the way that the street boys were responding to everyone. I thought that the boys would be rude and jusnasty towards us, but I was SO wrong. These boys are sweet. They have a lot of problems yes, and they are addicted to things that are so harmful to them, which just breaks my heart. Through this entire trip God has shown me the little details that matter. They matter in a handshake. They matter in a simple greeting. They matter in asking questions about a person's life and taking a genuine interest in the person. I know that may seem simple and unimportant but before, I did not think about how the little things matter so much. He has shown me how to show simple love to those who need it most.

Kelsay with some of the babies at Sara Rose Orphanage

During the week of June 3-13, the Do Justice team returned to Kenya for ministry and Cross Cultural Training. Along with daily time at the House of Hope Orphanage sponsored by Heart of the Bride, the team also got to help in the construction of a new home that they funded from their personal resources. Mama Lucy and her three children were abandoned by her husband and displaced during the tribal conflict two years ago. They have been living in a small poorly constructed room just beside the highway. 

Through the ministry of our partner Joel, her children are now in school. Because of the Do justice Team she will now be living on a beautiful piece of farm property with a new home, her own garden, and her own sheep. Lucy will also be living close to House of Hope and benefit from a job in that ministry. See the Habitat Project field notes below.

During this week on Kenya, the team was also able to benefit from a cross cultural training session led by missionaries who have been ministering in Kenya for over 25 years and began an outreach to an unreached people group in the 1980s. See the Cross Culture Training field notes below. 

On Friday, we were invited to share music, drama and the gospel for the students at the Primary School located in the community just beyond our base camp. HOB missionary, Jason Hovingh has a weekly ministry to the students of this school. The doors are wide open for the Bible to be taught in so many schools just like this one. More and more we are excited about the many ministry opportunities that surround the properties where HOB orphans live.

Students from the local Primary School

The DO Justice team performs a Mighty To Save drama

It was great to be a part of God’s gift. Lucy was extremely grateful, and I know this will not only change her life but the life of her children. It was evident on her face and body language, that the social stigmas towards her and her children have been a heavy burden. The house and life change will help peel back the burdens and allow God to continue to love and use her for his glory.

Playing a part in building Lucy’s house was a wonderful experience.  When the time came to give her the deed to the property, I somehow was nominated to be the one to hand it to her.  While both of us held on to the deed and shook hands as everyone took pictures, part of me felt honored, but, truly, most of me felt so unworthy. Who am I to shake her hand? Let alone give her the deed to her house?  She is such a precious child of God.

I wish I knew how to communicate to Lucy how beautiful she is and how much God loves her. I hope the fact that God provided this new home for her, an answer to her prayers, will remind her of how much He cares about her.   As the team and I were leaving, I looked back at the house, and it hit me that that home for Lucy and her three children cost me only $300.  That little bit of money, combined with the same amount given by each team member, provided an entire home to a destitute family who otherwise would have had nothing.  It cost us so little, and it provided so much.

While we were moving the many pounds of rock we were cooking in the sun, growing exhausted, and feeling like the pile of rocks was not getting any smaller, I was thinking the whole time about how different Lucy’s life would be. The small amount of money that each of the five of us brought was forever changing her life. No longer would she have to worry about having a place to live. No longer would she have to worry about sleeping somewhere unsafe. She now has room for a garden and a sheep, which she could not have done on her own. And she didn’t do it on her own. God was working through us.This really opened my eyes to how much we need to depend on God, not only for a house and provisions for a family but for energy to finish the mountain of rocks and to finish strong. It was humbling and exciting all at the same time.

One of the many piles of rocks the team moved to help build Lucy's home

The poverty in the world is great, but I see more and more that God is greater than that, and He is also close to it. We were reminded through the teaching this week that even the smallest sacrifice makes the biggest difference in someone’s life whom is needy. It is a financial sacrifice that we can easily recover from but does something so great like providing a home and shelter to a family. When we gave the deed of the property to Lucy I realized how much I had and how little it took to bless someone. God is not flashy. He has proven to use what little we have is for greater than what it’s worth.

Just realizing that the little bit I gave can change and bless someone’s life so drastically altered mine as well. The small amount that  I was able to help and give for Lucy’s house was so small and would not seem to make a difference. Yet when we follow God’s leading and do what he directs, eternal things can happen. This experience has fueled my desire to make a difference in whatever ways I feel the spirit leading, no matter how small or how impossible it may seem.

Spending time with the children was just a great experience all around. Just cuddling them and playing with them made everything to do with this trip worth it. I was sitting with one of the boys on my lap and thinking about how simplicity might be the best way to live. The child in my arms needed love and affection as much as a child in America. He was given a warm bed to sleep in, school to learn in, and food to eat. But not only does he have those things he knows he has someone stable in his life in the people caring for him at the home. 

The people here live simple lives compared to the flashy lives that we live in America. They don’t need TV or movies or playstations or anything like that. They are content to play with tires or just swing on the playset outside. I guess it just made me think of all the things I can do without.

The Last Day at House of Hope we spent with the orphans was one of those days in which everything was beautiful, not because it was perfect and the sun shined all day, but because it was one of those days I experienced God in everything.  Most days I just go about my business, but that day I was very aware of His presence in and around me.  We started the day off in prayer and worship, and I think spending an hour or so just meditating on God and His Word initiated the acute awareness I had of Him.  

I experienced God in simple things like the sun on my face, the sounds of the birds in the bush, and the beautiful scenery on the way to the orphanage.  And then I experienced Him so strongly with the orphans:  in their smiles, their laughter, their energy, their faces, their voices – everything about them reminded me of the beauty of God.  What I enjoyed most was the time after lunch, when we all sat around and listened to the children sing songs of praise and recite verses they’d memorized.   One of the toddlers, Gideon, fell asleep on my lap, and while I was holding him, I suddenly realized how blessed I am to spend time with children God loves so much. I’m at a loss for more to say.

Time with the Arensens was really helpful and encouraging.  The stories they gave about their own mission experience and walks with God encouraged me helped to gain a better grasp of what missions is all about. I learned that no matter how much training you have, you will always encounter something unexpected. I learned that it takes a complete reliance on God and not our own knowledge and skills. It takes a spirit of humility and flexibility to follow this calling. 

Jared with the "Mama" that offered to marry him. 

Throughout this trip, we’ve been surrounded by great men and women of faith who have lived lives of example in glorifying God. The Arensens were gracious to take their time to teach us how to live with humility and sensitivity to a culture very different from our own. It just stood as a strong example that God is just not my God, and it opened my eyes to principles valued so greatly in this culture, that while different, were sometimes just as biblical. It also showed me, very obviously, that some of the values we have are more rooted in culture than in Christ. I believe we’ve all found more truth here.