After a long and mildly eventful adventure in Amsterdam, we arrived Monday night safe and sound in Nairobi and were greeted by Connection Pointe’s own Giles & Alison Emery, missionaries with CMF at Missions of Hope International (MOHI).
After a long-awaited full-night’s rest in a real bed, our group set out to MOHI. There we learned about their humble beginnings, the mighty work God is doing through them, and insight into the culture of the Mathare Valley slums. A walking tour through these slums can’t be put into words, and even pictures don’t do it justice. The sounds of life here, the smell of raw sewage and trash, the feel of the small hands reaching out to us…every step was eye-opening and gut-wrenching. A Christian woman named Rachel welcomed us into her home to see it and meet her and pray for her. She is caring for her four grandchildren while their parents are out looking for work. Her home? Roughly 8’ x 8′.
MOHI ministers to the poor and disadvantaged in “the valley” in a holistic way, but one of their greatest initiatives is education. MOHI began in 2000 with 50 children, and they now run 13,000! Yes, you read that right! To provide perspective, Brownsburg Community School Corporation has 8,300 students. Kenyan students are required to take a standardized test in order to be accepted into high school, making it very competitive. MOHI schools have a 93% placement rate. That is great success by ANY standard! One thing that is noticeable in talking with the staff is that God-given vision, great wisdom and intentional decisions provide a standard of excellence in all they do.
Next we visited the Madoya School, where Connection Pointe focuses its efforts. We were welcomed with a presentation and singing by the students. Don Dyck was asked to “inspect the students” by the student leader after they were presented to us.
The Madoya Community School is currently being held in a temporary building until a new one can be built. They have the land, which is currently rubble from a former building, but hope to start building as soon as funding is secured. We walked over to the new location and had the privilege of praying for the future of the school and the students.
After a wonderful meal and time of fellowship at the Emery’s house, we called it an evening. So much was packed into this small day. Every step we took today brought an ounce more perspective to our abundance, making our walk both lighter and heavier…lighter because freedom comes when our “needs” are seen for the “wants” they truly are, yet heavier because we have met our excess in the valley and are brought to our knees in humility. Please join us as we pray for the ministers and missionaries in the Mathare Valley slums, that God will continue to shower them with wisdom, courage and energy to do the good work that has been started here.
WRITER: Zan Lyons
Zan is on staff at Connection Pointe and serves as Program Manager on the Community Impact Team. This trip to Kenya is Zan’s first international mission trip.
