The Long Way

On Thursday we took another way into Kibera that we have never travelled before. Normally where we enter is at the bottom of the slum and it is only about a 10 minute walk to the church. The way we went on Thursday however was about a 45 minute walk to the church starting at the top of Kibera and working our way down. Taking the long way was so different from the way we usually go. There were many shops and businesses. The streets were crowded with people and there was a lot going on. At the bottom where we usually enter we pretty much only walk by houses and maybe a couple people selling things on the street. Usually we say hello to everyone as we walk in, however in this area we had to stay very close together leaving no gaps. I was right behind Caroline, who was leading the group, and it was really neat to have her explaining things to me as we walked. She pointed out where she used to live and the school she went to. She pointed out Teacher Abigail’s house to me. We passed by a big bus at one point (which I have absolutely no clue how they got it into Kibera because the streets are so narrow and overcrowded) and Caroline told me it was there because someone just died and they were all packing up to go home (in another part of Kenya) to properly bury the body. There is a lot of disease in Kibera and 1 in 3 people has HIV. We crossed only one bridge, but it was surprisingly very sturdy, which I was thankful for because it was over about a 10 foot drop into the sewage. On our normal path in we go over 3 bridges, all of which seem to be missing more planks every time we cross them. I am sure that before I leave I will fall off the bridge closest to the church, if you could even call it a bridge. One of the corners of it isn’t even on solid ground. The way these people survive is incredible. They know what it means to work hard to eat. The average pay for the people in Kibera is equivalent to $1 a day. Pastor Imbumi told me that they have to really budget to be able to pay their rent and have just enough money for other basic necessities. Many of them eat only one meal per day. The smell of sewage flowing in the streets surprisingly doesn’t bother me. The smell that is difficult for me to deal with is the piles of burning trash everywhere. On this long walk we passed many piles burning and it is pretty awful. They just burn everything, paper, plastic, whatever. The part of the slum closest to the church is the poorest part of the slum, as it is at the bottom of the hill where everything flows down to. However, I really like walking that way because I love seeing all of the kids and shaking all of their hands, and I walk by the homes of many of the students from the school and I love hearing them call out my name. They continuously break my heart.
Julius came to the church on Thursday also to have his leg cleaned and re-bandaged. It still looks pretty bad and is very swollen so please pray that God will place a healing hand on him. Please also pray for Maureen, Sharon and Jacob in Abigail’s class. They are all 3 very behind the other students. Jacob just started going to school and has great potential. Maureen and Sharon both seem to have learning disabilities and I am hoping they can at least catch up a little bit before the end of the year. And finally please pray for Kibera. Pray that God would be present there. There is a lot of brokenness in this place and my prayer is that God would bring restoration into the lives of these people.
Tomorrow we are doing a Bible club in Kibera for about 200 kids! I will let you know how it goes. I am very excited/nervous about it. We are doing the story of The Good Samaritan.
Miss and love you all!