A Tough Day!

This lady was in a serious car accident
just the day before we arrived at her home
to help her. She was in extreme pain. 

We started out today to deliver Hampers Of Hope like any other day.  We had no idea how emotionally draining and impacting this day would be. It was just one of those days where each family we visited was in such desperate need, and with heartbreaking gut wrenching circumstances.

We have these visits planned in advance by our community liaison a few days in advance.  The first home we were planned to visit today experienced a serious car accident yesterday.  The mom was riding in a public transportation vehicle that went over an embankment and down a very steep and large slope, before crashing into a local home. When we arrived today she was injured and in extreme pain and she had not yet seen a doctor. She should have been rushed to hospital from the accident scene, instead she walked home!!!  We gave her one of the hampers, then prayed with her as she wept. We could hear that each breath was laboured and painful.  We gave her some money so she could go to the clinic and get x-rays and a check up.

Recently Widowed, this elderly gentleman was still
very much grieving. His daughter, shown here, wept
throughout our visit.

He is a very kind older gentleman.

We made our way to the home of a man in his sixties.  His daughter and grandchildren lived with him, and everyone was grieving. A month ago his wife of many years was tragically killed in a car accident. He is a broken man, and he was very emotional when we visited him.  His daughter wept uncontrollably while we talked and prayed together. It was a tough visit.  We left them with hugs and shared tears as we felt a little bit of the burden of his grief.  In a polygamist culture, this old gentleman had been married to only one woman, whom he clearly adored as the love of his life. In my career as a minister I have often felt so overwhelmed by the circumstances and challenges people share with me, and I have often wished I could do so much more for them.  This would be one of those days, and this was one of those situations. They were so grateful in their extreme poverty to receive a two to three month supply of food, but I tell you it felt like such a small token in light of their need and grief.

He is a very scared and confused
little boy.

10 year old Meja. 

We made our way to the next homestead and my heart sank. There was a  ten year old little boy named Meja.  He is very cute, but looked frightened and a little lost. I knew something was wrong when he did not move or look at us. Even when we broke out the sweets he did not even move. Three months ago this little boy began to lose his sight.  Today when we met him, he is mostly blind. He can't go to school anymore, he can't play, and he only moves on his own in very familiar surroundings.  He is a scared and confused little boy, and I wept openly as I prayed for him. I just kept thinking about how scared, how terrified he must be. In such a short timeframe he has gone from being a student, a playmate to his siblings and a helper to his mother to being completely dependant and unable to even walk freely around his home, nonetheless run and play as he should! I am very upset as I write this, with all kinds of questions going through my mind, feeling overwhelmed by my emotions. I think about what I would do for my son if this happened to him. I think about how helpless and guilty his mom must be feeling. my friends we need to help this little guy.  He has yet to see a doctor who can help him.  They don't have money for their daily food needs, so medical care is an impossibility to him.  Mission:180 is here in Kenya for a number of purposes, and one of those is to help fund medical care when its needed.  Meja is one of the cases that we will be helping.  ASAP! He may have a very treatable condition, he may need surgery, whatever the case may be, we are committed to helping this little guy.  WE NEED YOUR HELP.  Please consider contributing a little bit to help Meja. If we all do a little, together we can impact his little life.  Maybe we can stop the fear and bring back some joy and hope. As we say in Kiswahili, "twende pamoja", lets go together to make a difference!