Karen and Wilson Oyango on my right. Wilson grew up in Kibera and has returned, a gifted pastor and evangelist to serve with his wife, Karen. Karen studies at a local theological school and together with Wilson pastors a children’s church in Kibera. Karen is a cross cultural witness from Germany. 
Kenyans are very good at organizing groups to meet community needs. To help encourage more extensive use of cell groups in the local churches in the slums, we are trying to enrich the existing pastor cell groups like this one and organize new ones. Developing savings plans, encouraging the sharing of pulpits and ministry resources, we hope to help the pastors strengthen their churches as they learn to help one another in very personal and tangible ways.
Mud walls and paths, rusty, perforated metal roofs, open sewers, mounds of garbage, and smoke from cooking fires, we could confuse these things for the face of Kibera. But for me, this little girl is the true face of Kibera – her people. On this blog site, I hope to introduce you to the many faces of Kibera. There are drunkards and loafers and many many industrious men and women, shop keepers, from countless ethnic, language, racial and national groups. But mostly there are 1000's of children. Some well cared for and others desperately neglected. We all need to look intently into the face of Kibera.
Looking past “Kianda,” (one of 13 villages in Kibera) we see green fields and forests. This is government land. The slums are also on “government land.” Very little, perhaps none of the land in this picture is permanently titled to any individual. Even the land lords lease from the government and charge rent to residents. Issues of land ownership and utilization of land is one of the major factors that led up to the recent political crisis in Kenya. There are literally 100,000’s of children in these slums who have no green space near their home where they can play. People live on top of each other surrounded by open sewers while only a few hundred meters away are many acres of good unused land. Why? This is the pressing question in Kenya today.
Perhaps the largest church denomination in Kibera is “Church of Israel.” Most other Christians in the slums consider them a cult. Yet they make use of the Bible. I have much to learn about this old testament church. Do they have a witness of Jesus Christ in their community? What is their vision for ministry? What is their mission? They dress in white and worship outdoors. They are mostly one tribe – Luo. I am suspicious that they are widely misunderstood by mainline denominations, but they have a huge following in Kibera – many churches, thousands of worshippers gathering in various locations around the slum every Sunday.
Over 50 years ago, Sudanese Nubians were imported by British colonizers to strengthen their military and labor pool. This colonial labor camp was the beginning of Kibera. More recently many Muslims from other tribes and nations have immigrated to Kenya and live in Kibera. Most Mosques in Nairobi, like this one, have been built in the last 10 years. Generally, Muslims and Christians live at peace in Kibera, but separately -- and because of this segregation they tend to be distrustful of one another. After 60 years, Kibera remains a labor camp of sorts. Tens of thousands of laborers working all over the city make Kibera their home since the cost of living is so low, saving most of their hard earned money to send home to their families in rural areas.
Sunday morning, these boys were outside their church playing what appeared to be a call to worship along one of the major pathways of Kibera. They played together very well, smiling and dancing and having a good time. They invited me to join them, but I had to hurry on to another meeting I had promised to attend (Kibera is over 3 miles East to West). 
To the residents of Kibera, every inch matters. This shop keeper is selling pottery, cookers, cups, and a used baby walker along side Kibera’s super highway. Unfortunately, occassionally the train uses it too. In Nairobi and all over Kenya, one must be careful in crowded areas not to kick peddler’s goods along the sidewalks and byways. These informal businesses provide financial support for countless people who would otherwise be hungry and jobless. 
Most tourists never come here – it doesn’t have elephants, giraffes, lions, cape buffalo, or hippos – but it has one of the largest flamingo populations in Kenya and many many critters hang out here and it is one of the few places in Kenya untouched by humanity – it’s wonderfully wild! The Slingluff’s scouted the place for a day to see if we might like to camp here for 4 or 5 days on another retreat. It was unanimous. We’ll be back!
It took over 30 minutes to cover less than 5 miles – the roads were rough! And on our way back, we discovered why most bush vehicles in Africa have 2 spares – we got a flat and so prayed fervently all the way back to the main highway (a journey of some 30 miles). Under these huge fig trees, Debra and I camped several months into our marriage (December 1992). The children enjoyed this visit and hope to return here to camp in the future.
At take off, flamingos ski across the water as they flap their large floppy wings. Then they run over the waters, using their feet to increase their forward speed. At the proper velocity, they begin to glide across the glassy water surface. It is one of the many reasons there's no place like Africa. Timothy had more fun than a dog in a chicken coup!
Six buses carrying over 300 warriors for Jesus and at least that many large trucks with over 65 tons of aid for the many homeless people living in camps all over Kenya went on a 5 city, 10 day tour of Kenya. We left Nairobi on March 7 bound for Mombasa. We were an army of pastors, intercessors, counselors, and other ministers obeying the Lord of Heavens Army to do spiritual battle in the strife torn areas of Kenya most affected by the post election violence. It was 10 days of intensive spiritual warfare, moments of agony as intercessors confessed the nation’s sin and pleaded to God for mercy, repenting on behalf of the nation. Moments of triumph and celebration as church leaders from all denominations united to declare Jesus as Lord of Kenya and renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness. On behalf of their tribes, church leaders reconciled their tribal differences, and committed to serve together in obedience to Christ’s commission. It was 10 days of Phillipians 2 fellowship in the Holy Spirit, unselfishly serving one another, tender hearted compassion for one another. It was a Caravan of hope and miracles….
You may have heard about the people who were burned alive while seeking refuge in a church. We visited that sight near Eldoret and spoke with several people who shared their eye witness account of this atrocity. While this sight has been abandoned as a crime scene, the people in the area continue to preserve it as a memorial. The story it tells is heart wrenching, but must not be forgotten. May this place compel many who come after us to do likewise – pray for God’s mercy on the land of Kenya.
Along with 350,000 other people from many tribes across Kenya, this little girl has been made homeless by illegal militias that looted and destroyed most of their homes. Many of these refugees have lost or injured family members as well. As I met some of these people, I prayed that God would give them back more than they lost and that they would find in Him the strength to forgive their enemies.
