To the work!

I warmed by a fire in the Mathare slum today in Kenya.  My body wasn’t cold.  In fact, the low 70 degree temps were a welcome change from the blast furnace called August in Arkansas.  But, my heart did need some warming.  It’s toasty now.  Come join me.  You know you can’t resist a good fire.
Two of the four teams have arrived safely in Kenya and joined me for our first day in the field today.
As is true so many ministry days in Kenya, today had too many high points to write about without slighting both you the reader, and the source who provided the material of the day--God. So, I chose one nugget for us today.  We’ll use it as the appetizer for I believe will be a spiritual faith feast the new several days. Thanks for joining me on yet another Safari of the Soul. Enjoy the read.

Since arriving in Kenya, I have continued to recover from my pneumonia bout. After a great hot shower, good sleep, and wonderful Kenyan food, I needed to get back to some exercise. I know I’m not 100% but I also know what awaits me on this trip. So, I decided climbing the stairs in my hotel would be the most practical workout available. Four flights. Indoors, safe, out of the smog filled air of Nairobi. I’m not going to lie—it was tough!

I think I saw God smirk as we pulled into the school in the Mathare slum. The first truck loads of sand and stone were being unloaded for the next building phase at the “Miracle in Mathare.” After we finished our ground level tour of the ministry work, up the stairs we went. How many floors do you think we had to walk up? Yep….four!

Several times the laborers brushed past me on the narrow stairwell—carrying bags of sand and cement on their young, strong shoulders. Hard, sweaty, exhausting labor. That is the picture of ministry work in third-world settings. Nothing comes easy.

Everything is harder than you expect it to be, costs more than you planned, and takes longer than you would like. I have never seen Pastor Kennedy without his trademark smile. It was there today, as always. But, the smile could not cover the tiredness.

2024 has been tough. First the devastating floods. Then, the political violence that still rumbles a few miles away. And last month, Kennedy’s mother died after a long illness. As I stood aside, trying to catch my breath from the stairs, I marveled at Kennedy telling the God story of Mathare once again to my American team. He has told the story dozens, maybe hundreds of times. But I have never heard an audience get cheated.

He always gives the details of God’s provision and protection over the workers and staff in Mathare. Calling this work a miracle is no exaggeration. Only God could raise up a place like this out of the sewer
and stench of the slum.

But, it has been hard.

Step by step. Bag by bag. Block by block. The buildings have risen from the slum. And just as slowly but surely, one by one, desperate children have walked onto this property and received nourishment, love, discipline, and the promise of a loving God who has a plan for even slum-dwelling outcasts of the street.
Of course it’s tough. We’re not only fighting the obvious challenges of poverty, hunger, and lawlessness. Satan hates what is happening in Mathare. God has become famous because of this ministry work Kennedy and his foot soldiers are doing on one of the nastiest, toughest spiritual battlefields I have ever walked. But…they will not quit.

Quitting becomes habit forming really quick. The only cure for quitting…is…refusing to quit. Determination is not enough. Strength, grit, tenacity—they all give out eventually. Only the calling of God accompanied by the presence and power of His Holy Spirit will get you through years like 2024.

No one else on the team knew (or knows) how tired Kennedy is. They couldn’t possibly. He’s a strong man even on his weakest day. But I know. So, when we came to the end of our visit and the kids had sung us their last song, I asked Kennedy to have the staff stay behind for a few moments. And talked to them about tough times. I like cliches. I believe a saying often becomes a cliche because there is a clear, embedded truth in the words that communicates beyond the years. So, after I talked to the staff a bit about how tough 2024 has been in Mathare, I reminded them that— Tough times don’t last. But, tough people do.

This group of servants in Mathare are the toughest tender servants of God on the planet. And God lets me work with them. Amazing grace. So, when I got back to the hotel, before heading to my room to wash the slum off, I decided it would be good to walk the stairs again. I believe there are some sets of tired eyes reading this journal entry. I am not trying to get you to pretend your struggle is insignificant in light of what our staff in Kenya goes through daily. I am trying to tell you, and me, that tired don’t last—but God and His work does.

We made another visit to the wonderful work in Tasia (Kennedy & Christine), but I’ll save those stories for another journal. I need to wash the slum off and get ready to host our American and Kenyan team for dinner. Fellowship and good food are God’s dynamic earthly duo for restoring bone-tired servants. We will eat, laugh, hear God-stories, deepen friendships, and draw energy from the individual drained batteries sitting around the table. The sum of His energy will exceed the lack of ours. I love working with those who refuse to quit. Thanks for sending and praying,.