Home Visits

Our time here has been rather slow, mostly because the children are on what they call “Holiday” (Christmas break) until after the new year. The church has been rather empty because most people leave town to go to “up country” (their hometowns). So we’ve been filling our time doing our studies, planning a VBS & going on home visits. This past week we took some time to go into the homes of some of church members that haven’t left for “up country”. Most of the members live in the slum behind the church called Nando. The homes are about the size of a bedroom, maybe a 10x10 room. They’re made out of sheets of aluminum with concrete floors. They have a small seating area & a bed sheet separating the seating room from the bedroom. In Nando there are quite a few small communities of these shacks. You usually see herds of sheep walking around, trash, drunks, and barefoot children playing in the dirt. We visited a lady named Eunice; she is part of the tea ministry at church. Every Sunday she and a few other ladies prepare chai tea & mandazis (deep fried pastries) for after service. She asked us to pray for her because she hasn’t been able to find work & her rent was past due. Her rent is 1,300 Shillings, roughly $18 USD. Another lady we sat with is Jane; she lives in the home with her 20 yr old son who just finished school. They are both looking for work to pay rent as well. She is suffering with TB & HIV. She told us that she was working at a night club cleaning the bathrooms after hours & the club owner treated her badly & refused to pay her because apparently they didn’t have a formal written agreement. She tried to wash some of the neighbors’ clothes to earn money but she was very weak from the illnesses. Her son goes out during the day to find work but most places in Nairobi make you pay them first before they hire you…corruption at its finest. Another lady we met is Beth. She actually has a job cooking for construction workers but during this season they too are on Holiday so she is struggling to pay rent. Finally, we met Nicholas & his new bride Phyllis. They were a happier story; Nicholas works at our church & is part of the Children’s ministry. He got married a few weeks ago & is still on his honeymoon. Him & Phyllis just moved into their new home in Nando & he was very proud it & his wife. He had a huge smile every time we asked him how married life has been. It’s really hard to hear these stories of people not being able to pay rent when I sit there with 1,300 Shillings in my pocket. Everything in me wants to hand them money, but Arie explained to me that we can’t just give money out like that. Most African’s have the mind set of turning to Muzungu’s (Westerners) for money instead of God. Always, my initial reaction is come to Africa & put a band-aid over all the problems. But really it’s only a temporary fix. The problems here need more than a first-aid kit…they need God.

Nando



girls playing in trash




Nicholas & Phyllis




Christina & Anna-Marie outside Eunice's house