Agape

Early this morning we had the opportunity to meet with men that live on the streets of Nairobi and hear their stories as we shared bread and milk with them. This experience was so much more than just providing a meal for the homeless, it was a rare chance to get a small glimpse into the lives of men who live on the streets everyday. One man we talked to had been on the same street corner for over 30 years and was 69 years old. Boniface was able to open the door for us to visit these men and share the gospel with them. We gave them pamphlets that explained the significance of a life with God and two of the boys we shared with, James and Douglas, committed their lives to Jesus. 

In his youth, Boniface went through some hardships within his family that led him to live on the streets for a time, he says that this is the reason why his heart is full compassion for the street boys. Later, he was able to get off the streets, receive a full education and become a pastor for a church in Kenya. He felt God’s call to minister to the street boys and proposed the idea to his church who rejected it. Boniface simply left the church, his salary, his home, his life of stability to start a ministry for the boys who live on the streets, quickly burning through his life savings. Today Boniface lives completely by faith, relying on God to provide for himself, his family, and the boys he takes into his own home from the streets.

Later in the morning we endured a long bus ride to visit Boniface and his family at their home, which was one of the most meaningful experiences we’ve had since we’ve been in Kenya. Our team split up, some of us built a fence, some cut the grass with machetes, and many of us pulled weeds in the front of his house. It was really incredible to see how much work we were able to get done as a team in only a couple hours, work that would take Boniface and his family days to complete. As the team worked, it was awesome to see how the accumulation of small actions done by every team member added up to transformation of Boniface’s land. It was a really good reminder as to why were here in Kenya and why were serving. Although we can’t change all of the hardships that many of the people we encounter face, we can do many small things that eventually add up to make a huge difference. Today was significant to us because it showed that even manual labor is a way to express God’s love to people.

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” 

Philippians 2:3

-Rachel Nankervis, Katherine Berg, and Jennifer Gueldner