Welcome to Kenya friends

We’re glad Pastor Lauren, his wife Joanne, and Janice from the Mission Society came to visit us from America. They loved us, prayed for us, spoiled us with prezzies from the States, and caught this precious picture of Timothy and his Mum.

Residence of Kibera Slums

No one knows how many children live in Kibera, but the casual observer walking through the slums at various times of the day and week will notice that they certainly outnumber the adults. What is their world like? What are their hopes and dreams? How do they understand God? I have much to learn from them.

Bring home the water

Whose carrying the water this time? Everyone in Kibera contributes. Children as young as three carry water in these old cooking oil bottles. And of course they have time on the way to visit with friends and pose for pictures from a friendly Mazungu (White guy).

Household Chores

These young fellows are bringing home some firewood. Charcoal and wood are still common cooking fuels because oil and gas are too pricey for the slums. Where do they get it? I don’t think its polite to ask.

Frying Mandazi (donuts)

The Kenyan form of donut – not quite as sweet but certainly every bit as popular. This young man has a job and appears happy to be doing it. The vast majority of people his age have no work and no prospects for work. This is a major problem all over Kenya.

Children Everywhere

You can’t go 10 feet in Kibera without seeing little children. This tool and knife sharpeners isn’t distracted by them. With his mobile wheel, he can travel about – especially to all the butcher shops, putting the edge back.

Mudders

Most walls in Kibera are made from mud packed in and supported by small poles nailed to the wall studs. When this mud dries, its amazingly resistant to erosion, but they do need maintenance. Most mud walls in Kibera need this man’s help – but alas, there’s little money to pay for his skills. He may earn 2 dollars a day.

Beer Haulers

We really hate to see this. One bottle of Kenya “Tuskers” costs about $ 1.25 -- a days wage for many people in Kibera. Yet this stuff is consumed regularly in the many bars in Kibera. Illegal alcohol is brewed and sold publically without any resistence from the police. People without hope find what little resources they do have slipping through their fingers.

Mountain climbing in the neighborhood

Much of the Katwikera village in Kibera has these steep slopes that make life a bit challenging. This is the way to the only Baptist Church in the Kibera slums. I’m glad I’ve never had to traverse it in the dark!

The daily dilemma of sewage

Everyday someone has to take a shovel along the many open sewers of Kibera and pick the garbage up out of the drains onto the pathways or the fluids will back up into homes. The smells vary from place to place and time to time. Hot sunny weather helps the smell. Lots of rain helps move solids downhill. Life goes on.

Mud Sledding

Kibera children can find fun anywhere. A little rain. A little mud. A steep slope. You can have a good time on a Sunday afternoon with a little help from some friends.

Islamic Evangelism

There are not many Muslims in Kibera, but they have lots of money. Recently they bribed government officials then evicted a church in Kibera that had been on that location for 17 years. Kibera Christrians fear them too much to evangelize among them. And they keep acquiring land in Nairobi legally and by other means to build more Mosques.

Pastor Charles Onyang

Charles is a dear friend and partner in our ministry in Kibera. He has lived there for 20 years, working in civil service to support his family while pastoring in one of the toughest parish in Nairobi. Revival Pentacostal Church in Katwikera, Kibera has become the mother of many churches all over Kenya, in the Congo, Tanzania, and yes even India! He has recently graduated from Bible college. Celebrate with me God’s calling on His life. And may God multiply such leaders throughout the slums of the world!!!