Today we spent the day in Nairobi at the Lunga Lunga slum, which is the site of the recent pipeline explosion. We spent some time visiting some of the displaced children and heard them singing several praise songs. We also introduced them to the Kids Village version of "How Great is Our God" which they enjoyed and actually joined in while we were singing. After visiting the children, we took a long walk through the narrow streets of the slums and visited the site of the explosion. The streets of the slums were narrow and crowded with villagers walking about. The streets were muddy ("slum mud" is a mixture of mud with other waste) and lined with vendors selling various items, from clothes to food and sometimes even electronics. Kids frequently ran up to us asking "how are you" and wanting to shake our hands.
As we approached the explosion site, we all expected the moment to weigh heavy in our hearts, but seeing it firsthand was very difficult. It looked almost like a battlefield where it appeared a series of bombs exploded. There were remains of the 10'x10' tin dwellings where villagers in the slums formerly lived. Remains of burned up shoes, children's books, toys, disintegrated tires, and general household items littered the area. There were even three pigs and stray dogs fighting at the site while we were there, which added to the overall weight of the moment. After walking around for a bit, Pastor Jeffrey (pastor of the slum church) led us in singing "How Great Thou Art" and then prayed over the site.
We then walked through the streets of the slums to Pastor Jeffrey's church called Wells of Joy International Ministries where we spent the morning worshipping with them. The children sang and danced songs of praise while Pastor Jeffrey introduced our team along with the Mendonsas (or the "Bobs" as pastor Jeffrey referred to them) to the congregation. We were invited to participate in the service by singing a song and we delivered a rousing, crowd pleasing encore performance of How Great is our God - Kids Village style. Joshua was invited to preach and so he delivered the sermon while Pastor Jeffrey interpreted. He shared the Gospel accurately and in a simple way that resonated with the church. After church we had lunch at the Java house, which served food that closely resembles American cuisine.
It was a full day and we are trying to process through what the Lord would have each of us learn through this experience. We are thankful to have had the opportunity to worship our God with our brothers and sisters in Kenya. What a perfect reminder of how great is our God.
Note - a Matatu is a type of van here in Kenya. We saw a green one with pink interior and blue/orange headrests, hence the title for today.
Post written by Shane.
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