| Hello! This is Angelica Nation. I am from Manchester,
TN, but now I am in Kenya with the Bushebi's for the summer. I have been instructed
to create a report for you! My ministry is focused on the street kids and orphans in
Bungoma. I also teach at cell groups and attend different "Gospel Believers
Fellowships" in the area. Every Tuesday and Thursday the
church feeds the street kids. These are my favorite days of the week. Street
kids have won my heart. They are comparable to a gang with young members in America.
The youngest kid right now is 8; he is new, and wonderful. The eldest is
probably 20, or 21. These kids are tough from necessity of their environment.
They fight, they sniff glue, and they have no one to love them. My command is
to be Jesus' hands and feet, and love them for Him. On Thursdays they get to play
soccer- they LOVE it! On Tuesdays we teach them Math, Art, and English. When
these kids first came, most didn't know how to write their name. Some have never
been to school. So on Thursdays either Isaac or Sampson, the men that work with the
street kids, write Math problems on the bored, and the kids copy them, answer them, and
give them to me to grade. Some of the younger ones are pretty good! Some of
the older ones are not. I teach them English, just some vocabulary. There is
one guy; I call him Charles, who is 19. He went through 6th grade, so he knows how
to speak English pretty well! We are writing back and forth in his notebook to teach
him better grammar, spelling, etc. So I am getting to know him more, and teaching
him English. Some of the younger kids really break my heart. They want to hold
my hand, hug me, etc. I wondered, where did they learn this? Probably from
their moms. That is sad- they don't have a mother to love them anymore. This
is one way I can see God using me here. Isaac and Sampson have faithfully worked
with these kids for a few years. They have seen much fruit, as the kids have learned
to behave, and have been educated some. It is a wonderful ministry, full of needs
met by compassion. I am in Africa giving the kids something Isaac and Sampson
cannot- I know I am meeting some of their emotional needs. Strangely in Kenya I feel
like a celebrity. You must understand that people in Kenya LOVE white people.
From the time they are very small they must be taught to value Americans in
particular. When I walk down the
road
children start jumping up and down, clapping and shouting, "Muzungu!"
Which has come to mean, "White person!" in Swahili. Most people here
associate white skin with wealth, also. So some of my favorite times are seeing a
street kids on the street, and walking down the road with him: a muzungu and a
street kid. It means a lot that I will associate with them. They are very
funny; being around them is a joy. My favorite kid just came a few weeks ago.
His name is Suleimun ("Slayman"). He says he is 6, but he is
probably 8. He says he cannot remember when he was born. He has a big belly- a
sign of malnutrition. He is precious; he holds my hand always. He copies
what I say. He laughs so much. Thursday I tried to teach him his numbers 1-10.
He knew most of them. He mirror switches them many times; I think most kids do
when learning. He gets beat up a lot- because he cannot fight for himself against
these older boys. I pray that God will give him a family. I am tempted to put
him in my suitcase and take him home. I think someone will find me out, or I might
try!.
Not
all street kids are orphans; some have parents that say, "If you want to eat, go beg
on the street." Some have run away from parents who abused them. One guy,
18 years old ran away a long time ago, and cannot remember the way back to his |
|
home. When I say I work with street kids and orphans, I
mean the kids living on the street, and the kids at the orphanage. The kids at the
orphanage (about 13) have come from the same situations as the street kids. Some
used to be street kids. I spend time with them on Saturdays. Their behavior is
VASTLY different from the street kids. They do not fist fight; they don't sniff
glue; they don't steal each other's food. The difference is not where they came
from; it is the environment they are in now. They get love, food, at least 7 pairs
of clothes, and a bed to sleep in. This is the best way to change a street kids
life- take him away from the influence of the members of the "gang," and give
him love- emotionally and physically through food, clothing, and shelter. I wish
Suleimun could go to the orphanage, but the reoccurring problem is lack of adequate funds.
Once a few weeks ago the orphanage ran out of food. It breaks my heart to
think that those kids couldn't eat. How can Christians in this 3rd world country
minister to all the lost and hurting? Many of you are helping to remedy this
imbalance of funding and need. Praise the Lord. I have learned that we can
only do what we have funds for- but we are burdened to do more. We go to the Lord in
prayer, and He will hear us. Every Tuesday after I spend time with the street
kids, I teach at a cell group. Cell groups are in home Bible studies of the church,
scattered throughout the area. They are wonderful. They worship, in the
African style, and I teach, and we take tea, or another drink. Ironically, my
favorite part about cell groups is leaving. Instead of getting in our cars and going
our separate ways, usually we are all walking the same direction. So we start off,
everyone talking to each other, and then slowly people must part ways, so we say goodbye.
I feel unity in these times.
Every
Sunday I also visit a different church in a rural area. Most buildings are made of
clay, and I take a personal translator so I can hear the message. Most if not all
have no musical instruments; they use the hands God gave them, as they say. Some
have a drum. They are very small, and wonderful. I feel unity when I go there,
also. Kenya has a reputation for being welcoming to visitor- this holds true.
They are very welcoming, very glad to see me. These churches bless my heart.
These
are my 4 areas of ministry here; in order of the priority God has set. I have to
admit, I know I am getting the better deal being here: the greatest blessing given
has been in their ministry to me. Getting away from what is familiar to me, and
living in a culture with a slower pace has taught me to hear the voice of God. He
has shown me many things for my future, and is showing me about my life's call through the
ministry I am doing. It is also wonderful to go to a different culture because the
prejudices people of this land have grown up with I know nothing about. This frees
me to "view no one from a worldly point of view" (2 Cor 5). Our sight as Americans is almost blind to
need that is far away and foreign. Even here in Kenya, my sight is blind to the full
extent of the ministry of Gospel Believer's Fellowship. They minister in other
cities, and do things that I am just now learning about. It is a huge ministry here.
Let's continue to pray for them- we pray for eternal fruit. Pray that God will
strengthen Bishop's shoulders- he carried the weight of a big ministry, and the added
weight of a ministry constructed through poverty. May we learn to pray like
Africans- I have seen that they believe God works through prayer more than we Americans
do! I pray we will receive this information like a body does. A message
travels though the body and each part must respond differently, but no part can ignore the
message. 020806 |
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