Thanksgiving Wishes from Kenya
Posted on November 20, 2007
Filed Under Deeper Walk |
I just had dinner with a new friend, a pastor from Nairobi, Kenya. His eyes and heart glowed with hope for his home and his people, this ravaged country on a ravaged continent. Weaved among his stories were a couple pieces of jarring information:
- A family in the Nairobi slums lives in constant fear of being tossed out of their 8 by 8 shack unless they can scrape together the monthly rent: the price of a cup of coffee @ Starbucks
- A girl from the slums can be sent to school, educated and taught life skills (keeping her from prostitution) that can radically alter her existence for $45 a year
- When a person has AIDS and can’t find work in the city (where drugs are available in HIV clinics), they typically have to return to the countryside, their home (where no drugs are available), to die
- For many attempting to get ahead and provide a better life for their family, their choice is: do I try to save little bits of money or do I eat?
- An entire tribal people group can learn to stop killing and raiding and hating when the gospel shows up, in the form of a water well
On this Thanksgiving week, may we truly receive what we enjoy as gifts from a generous God - and may we remember our opportunity (and responsibility) to care for our neighbors. True gratitude receives and enjoys, but true gratitude never hoards. If we don’t know a neighbor in need (either in our own zip code or on another continent), maybe we should start looking.
Remember, November 30th is the deadline for our contest in search of the best picture of a church marquee sign.
And, if you enjoy this blog, you can also check me out on my personal blog.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Winn
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3 Responses to “Thanksgiving Wishes from Kenya”
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So…are there any places we can send money to that would help those people? Like the girls from the slums or the families who need rent money?
I have a neighbor who’s fighting cancer right now. This is a reminder for me to take action in love.
Thanks to God for every blessing, from family to just waking up in the morning!
Melody (or anyone interested), any dontation to City Harvest (www.thecityharvest.org)up to $500 can be mailed as a check to:
City Harvest Ministries
P.O Box 7276 Nairobi 00300,
Kenya
winn