David Lipscomb University on the streets.
Tuesday we spent most of the day in Eastleigh, a poor part of
Nairobi, although there are many shops and businesses among the piles of
burning trash and waste. I have seen
slums in Mexico and Guatemala and this easily rivaled or exceeded the size and scope
of those. Mathari is a huge area next to
Eastleigh that is in worse condition; it is basically housing made of sheet
metal, wood, cardboard, or anything else the people there can find. Many street kids go from Mathari to Eastleigh
because there are more businesses and more people with money. We walked on trash and mud most of the day,
travelling with the MITS crew to “bases” or areas where street people
congregate. We prayed with some of the
groups and just let them know that God loves them. I prayed over a young man who had committed
to staying off huffing glue so that he could work part-time for a woman that
owns a fruit stand. He had the shakes
like a heroin addict going through withdrawal from being off the glue. I really hope that he sticks with it; he
seemed encouraged by us. After seeing
the conditions there and how strong the influence to huff shoe glue, jet fuel,
or gasoline is for these street kids, I respect each one of the kids in Kamulu
even more. Sometimes when we are playing
basketball or working on the farm, I forget that some of them were like the
street kids with a bottle of glue stuck to their face, getting high all
day. They seem like regular kids having
fun, joking and talking with each other.
The power to break that kind of cycle can only be explained as the power
of God to change lives, and now I appreciate how he has changed the lives of
the kids at MITS even more. They are the
most courageous, brave, and smart kids I have ever met.
-
John Lewis
Tuesday we spent most of the day in Eastleigh, a poor part of
Nairobi, although there are many shops and businesses among the piles of
burning trash and waste. I have seen
slums in Mexico and Guatemala and this easily rivaled or exceeded the size and scope
of those. Mathari is a huge area next to
Eastleigh that is in worse condition; it is basically housing made of sheet
metal, wood, cardboard, or anything else the people there can find. Many street kids go from Mathari to Eastleigh
because there are more businesses and more people with money. We walked on trash and mud most of the day,
travelling with the MITS crew to “bases” or areas where street people
congregate. We prayed with some of the
groups and just let them know that God loves them. I prayed over a young man who had committed
to staying off huffing glue so that he could work part-time for a woman that
owns a fruit stand. He had the shakes
like a heroin addict going through withdrawal from being off the glue. I really hope that he sticks with it; he
seemed encouraged by us. After seeing
the conditions there and how strong the influence to huff shoe glue, jet fuel,
or gasoline is for these street kids, I respect each one of the kids in Kamulu
even more. Sometimes when we are playing
basketball or working on the farm, I forget that some of them were like the
street kids with a bottle of glue stuck to their face, getting high all
day. They seem like regular kids having
fun, joking and talking with each other.
The power to break that kind of cycle can only be explained as the power
of God to change lives, and now I appreciate how he has changed the lives of
the kids at MITS even more. They are the
most courageous, brave, and smart kids I have ever met.
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