Advertisement
The Bridge.
Under it runs water, sewage, chemical run off, etc. Some gather their "washing water" from this stream... On the other side of this bridge, on the other side of the world in Kenya, Africa lies a whole community that lives very differently than most of us that have easy access to the internet on which to read this blog. The area on the other side of this bridge lies a slum.
We wake up in the morning, flip on our lights and turn on our running water after climbing out of our cozy beds. They wake up in the morning and get out of the family bed in their 8 x 10 sheet metal “house”. We have the luxury of a shower or a bath, they send the mother or a child to go find water and fill a plastic basin where they can take a “bucket bath”. We have a bathroom, they walk to the local outhouse. One in three homes is affected with HIV/AIDS and they all share the same facilities which consist of a hole in the ground.
We turn on our coffee pot or make our smoothie and give our child a good breakfast. They get the charcoal to light so they can boil water for tea and if they are lucky
Babies
The older siblings help care for the younger siblings. This little boy, around age 9, was responsible for bringing his baby sister to the children's activities. It is amazing to see kids carrying kids and to see them take such good care of each other. there is sugar to put in the tea and some dry bread they can serve for breakfast.
We put our dishes in the dishwasher, they send the mother or a child to go collect water and wash the dishes in the plastic basin.
We throw our clothes in the washing machine and turn it on. They send the mother or a child to gather water and put the clothes in a plastic basin to scrub by hand.
We had the honor with our last team to go to ten homes with care packages of a new plastic basin filled with staple supplies. Three of us would enter a home to take our small gift and pray with the residents. We were welcomed into the “living room” which usually consisted of a small wooden table and a wooden bench. A sheet hung in the middle of the “house” which separated the bedroom from the living room. We asked each person what they would like prayer for. Many times the answer was “unity” as abuse is rampant, some prayed for a better home, although they mentioned “we are thankful for the home we have” (we were humbled), and most
Care Packages
Rice, sugar, tea, pasta, cooking oil, salt, shoe polish (the kids love to come to school in polished shoes), skin products, soap, laundry detergent and other things are packed in bags and basins and delivered to the community each time we host a team. requested prayer for jobs. The unemployment rate is at an all-time high of 40%.
How many times in my life have I grumbled phrases of complaint? And standing in those homes I realized I am extravagantly rich because I am able to eat everyday (multiple times), I take holidays occasionally, I drive a car, etc. etc. etc. In comparison I am rich in material things and poor in Spirit whereas many of those families are poor in material things and rich in Spirit. Once again I am encouraged to “zip it” when I want to complain.
On Sunday morning we got participate in the church service at Spring Valley which serves the slum. Our hearts bubbled over to hear the joy pouring out of those children and adults that sang praises to God, that clapped their hands, that danced and found joy in that day.
Poverty is dark and it pushes people down and sometimes under. Jesus is Light and He lifts people up. We saw that before our very eyes.
ITHM is honored to get to partner with Spring Valley Academy that is now serving 375 children. Children that are no longer dying of malnutrition
Slum Life
No one gets to choose where or when or to whom they are born to. The challenges these people face is beyond the comprehension of most of us. By educating and caring for the children we are helping them break this cycle of poverty so they can have a brighter future. and disease (poor children are 50%!m(MISSING)ore likely to die before their 5
th birthday than children with resources in Kenya) due to the efforts of Pastor Stanley, his wife Alice and our generous donors.
We cannot change the whole world but
we can change the whole world for those whom we assist! All it takes is some people crossing the bridge to the other side.
If you are already part of this change, we thank you! If you would like to be part of this change you can through prayer, financial donations and possibly even serving on the ground. You can also share the work we are doing with others and see if they would like to get involved. We would love to come share in person if there is a group/family/church/club that would like to hear more!
Thank you,
Jennifer Phillips Lawrence
Tax deductible gifts can be made out to
ITHM
23223 S. Warmstone Way
Katy, TX 77493
Or you can donate on line at:
www.treasurehouseministries.org (scroll down to see more photos)
Advertisement
Tot: 0.085s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0439s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb