A love and burden for children

A Day in Mathare

Sharing the good news that God doesn't look on the outer appearance, but looks at the heart and that when we are we...we are strong

They love to worship...and jumped around even though it was like an oven inside.

Erika...always offering a smile and her hand. She is something special.

Trash where the kids go to that bathroom



Innocence surrounded by filth

A child (mtoto) sitting next to the 'stream' of sewage by his home

You know, as a parent I want to help my children experience things that will help them to grow, to change, and learn to trust God more fully. And I think that is exactly what God is doing with me. It is difficult to explain the effect that the slums have on me. Just imagine large areas of dirt with trash strewn all over the ground and various animals and birds digging through it. A strong smell of burning rubber seems to never leave go away. Goats are lying around as turkeys pluck through the plastic bags near them. There are even a few pigs lounging around. In the midst of this filth small children are walking around. They turn as we drive up and they smile and wave and yell, ‘how are you?’. Then, as if we weren’t even there they pull down their pants or hike up their dress, squat, and proceed to go to the bathroom…sometimes waving and smiling all at the same time. As you walk through Mathare a dark ‘river’ of sludge runs down the middle of the walkway, a nasty mixture of feces, urine, soapy water from washing clothes and mud. The stench is unbearable for some and disturbing to most. The most unnerving part for me is to see the kids walking around in sandals, torn shoes, or no shoes at all, jumping over it as if it were just another obstacle in their way during a normal day. Runny noses indicating sickness, swollen stomachs revealing malnutrition, dirty clothes, dusty faces and gentle hands as they reach out to touch the hands of their visitors. Smiling faces on the little ones, a somewhat hardened look on the older ones, and a dazed or distrusting look on others. Now imagine that those are not kids 10,000 miles away in a slum in Kenya that you will probably never visit and these are not kids you will never meet, hold hands with or kneel in the dirt next to….imagine they are your kids, or your brothers or sisters or nieces or nephews or grandson or granddaughter ………. Yep, that’s pretty much how I feel and probably just a glimpse into the heart of what God our Father feels when He sees the same thing. It is also a glaring reminder that some things in this world are just not the way they should be…and He wants them changed.

Blessings,

Trenton

Brennen, Sydney, and Gabriel…We love you and miss you. Praying that your time in California will be blessed. We think about you all the time. Please pray for us too. Love, Daddy.