Below Cultural Differences

It’s Wednesday afternoon and the children are dismissed for lunch.  It has been a very long morning as I have been fighting fatigue since I awakened.  As I walk to the door, I silently pray that I will make it back to the house, no more than 100ft away, without interruption. I cautiously place one foot onto the sidewalk outside, and then the other.  On a normal day, I would wave to every child passing by, often times stopping to play for a few moments.  Today, I try to ignore the activity going on around me.  I can think of nothing but curling up on the couch for the next hour. 

The adorable Hadassah (left) and her equally
adorable friend McKenna (right)

All too soon, and just as expected, I hear the pitter-patter of small feet running up behind me.  A small arm quickly embraces my waist, then falls comfortably into my hand.  It’s 7-year old Hadassah and this has become our daily routine.  As she pulls my arm to begin our walk around the schoolyard, I want to resist.  Instead, I fall into step beside her.  Her sweet little voice carries up to my ears, “You see. . .” and she begins todays conversation.  She talks happily, waving to the guard as we pass the gate.  As we near the end of our walk, her words tear my heart apart:

“When the white people come, I always really love them.  I love the white people.  You know, when I look in the mirror and see my face, I think it is ugly.  I think people might look at me and think I am dark and stinky.”

With tears in my eyes, I bend to my knees.  I begin to share with her a passage of scripture that I had shared with my students earlier this morning – Psalm 139:13-18.

“For You formed my inward parts;

You covered me in my mother’s womb.

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillyfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed,

And in your book they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

If I could count them, they would be more in number than the sand;

When I awake, I am still with You.

“Do you know what that means, Hadassah? That means God put you together exactly the way He wanted you .  It means His hand was in every detail of your creation.  He thinks of you continually; thoughts of love, thoughts of joy, thoughts of a beautiful future.  You are beautiful and God has a marvelous plan for your life!”

Here in Kenya -  8,000 miles away from the place I call home, in a culture completely different from my own – I am reminded by a 7-year old girl that below the culutral differences, we all have one desperate need. We all need to know the One who saved us; we need to know that our lives serve a purpose; we need to know that we are of great value; we need to know that we are loved and loveable; we need to know what God’s thoughts are toward us; we need to know that we are cherished. 

To all the women out there, I speak this to you as much as I speak it to myself:

Beauty does not come from outward adornment.  Rather it comes from the hidden person of the heart, with the INCORRUPTIBLE beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.   (1 Peter 3:3)

You are beautiful.  You are of great worth.  You are LOVED!! 

What I Didn't Know

Nothing is ever as you expect it to be.  I now understand the truth in this statement.  I didn’t expect Kings Kids Village to be such a thriving ministry; I didn’t expect to have clean water to drink; I didn’t expect to have a showerhead or a toilet that flushes; I didn’t expect to have electricity and constant access to the internet; I didn’t expect to live in a nice room with a comfortable bed; I didn’t expect to have a pleuthera of food choices and I certainly didn’t expect baked goods!  But all of these things are a reality for me here in Kenya.



Dan, Dorcas and all the girls with their babies.



So when Saturday morning (September 8^th)  rolled around and it was time to spend the morning with Wings of Compassion, I assumed that their compound was as comfortable as the one I live at.  What I didn’t know was that the ministry is located just outside the slums, in a very poor section of the city.  What I didn’t know is that their compound – home to 11 rescued girls and their babies, the directors Dan and Dorcas, their son, and their daughter with her two children – is smaller than my parents entire house.  What I didn’t know is that seven girls sleep in three bunk beds in one tiny room and two more currently occupy the kitchen.  What I didn’t know is that the babies only have one small room to play in during the day as the “yard” outside is nothing but mud and gets very messy during the rainy seasons.  What I didn’t know is that the kitchen is barely large enough to contain 3 people and the sink can hardly be used because the drain is blocked. 

What I didn’t know was that my first blog (posted less than two weeks since the day I arrived) was going to be a call for action.  But first, let me tell you a little about Wings and the heroes that started it.  Wings of Compassion is a rescue mission that seeks to give the most desperate teenage mothers and their babies a safe place to live, food to eat, and the opportunity to go back to school.  Each individual girls story is heart breaking and nauseating.  Many of them were sold into prostitution by their own family in order to earn money for food; one of the girls conceived as a result of rape; still others had their lives threatened and were forced to run away.  Not a single one of them is over 19 years of age. 

Dan and Dorcas started the ministry less than two years ago and their over whelmingly compassionate hearts willl not allow them to turn any girl away.  They have no space that is their own, even sharing their bedroom with their young son.  Two girls currently live in the kitchen, requiring most meals to be prepared outside.  With no money to buy a van, none even to pay the bus fare for all the girls, Sunday morning services are held in the living room.  To top it all off, Dan and Dorcas are also overseeing a small orphanage.  Just last weekend, a 6-year old girl was rescued from the streets.  She had been abandoned, sexually assaulted, and left walking the streets for 5 days and nights.  Even though she was rescued late at night, everything possible was done to ensure the girl received immediatie medical attention, food and a place at the orphanage.   Dorcas returned home at 2am the following morning.  But you won’t hear her complain.  Neither of them utters a single, disgruntled  complaint.  If you ask Dan, their compound is their “glory”; a hundred times better than the one they moved out of last December. 

What they really need is more space for the endless number of girls who need refuge.  What they really need is a support team – people who agree to give monthly to meet the growing needs of their ministry.  What they really need is a place they can call their own.  I know that those things will come in time.  But what they need IMMEDIATELY is the funds to build another room on their compound.  One more room will allow them to have their kitchen back; one more room might even allow them to bring in a few more girls.  And this is where I turn to you.  The cost of building another room is between $300-$400.  If you feel compelled at all to give to this cause, please message/email me.  I will be greatful; Dan, Dorcas and the girls will be grateful; and God above will see your selfless heart. 

Thank you in advance my wonderful family and friends!!  Blessings!