Some think that because I live in Africa, I am out ‘in the bush,’ speaking Swahili, and hanging out with the tribal people every day. Hardly ๐
The life of a dorm mom is a wonderful and rewarding job, but it has limited me at times from being out in my local community to do outreach, form relationships, share the Gospel, and provide relief where I can.
As such, it’s been such a blessing this week to have had two opportunities to get outside the RVA gate and work with some locals and get to know them better and start to formulate some ideas for new projects…
First, this past Saturday, the RVA staff and students participated in an Outreach Day to the members of the Kijabe town, where I live. I took 5 “Titchie’s” (elementary kids) down to the local children’s ward – CURE – to plant over 50 seedlings behind their facility in the gardens overlooking the Rift Valley. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the trees come up…err…crooked, but we all did our best. The kids were such troopers, and kept saying, “Ohh, wow…this soil is just soo good, Miss Emily,” or “Ouch! That thorn got my finger!” or “Ugh…this spot is too rocky.” Need I say more? It reminded me immediately of Matthew 13 – The Parable of the Sower. And, as we got our knees dirty and hands even dirtier, I smiled in thinking about the wonderful promise Jesus makes when we plant our lives in the good soil of God’s Word:
“As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.รขโฌย (verse 23).
This past Tuesday morning, I also had the privilege of driving down into the Maai Mahui Valley with a woman named Jana Meade (Dutch Calvin grad of ’76! ๐ ) and a Christian Kenyan man named John Njane. There, we entered a small village where Habitat for Humanity recently built a housing compound for IDP’s (internally displaced peoples) who has truly been suffering since the election violence of 2008. John connected with a tailor down there named Daniel, encouraged him to start teaching ladies who are widows and AIDS victims how to sew, and have since then started a sewing project within one of the housing units. Jana and I accompanied John to see the progress, and also offer marketing and sewing project ideas for these ladies. I brought two bags of fabric with me to donate to them, along with a number of instruction booklets that the Home Ec Department of RVA wanted to donate. Here I am discussing how to do a hem with the interpretation being provided by Daniel and John:
At this point, some of you are probably laughing. Me? Sewing? Let me explain. I was NOT down there to teach them how to sew. Jana Meade has been sewing for over 40 years, so she was the expert of the day ๐ I was simply trying to help John with some marketing and business ideas for how to connect this project to the over-arching organization he is trying to form, called Flow of Hope. My brother and friend are hoping to start a non-profit for John in the days ahead, so I wanted to snap some photos and get the ball rolling in that regard. In fact, if you’d like to check out John’s project, he has formed a group on Facebook for “Flow of Hope.” I have recommended to John to dubb the sewing project, “Thread of Hope,” in unison with the other name…and all consecutive side-projects could be called, ___________ of Hope.
It was so amazing to see how even a small skill like sewing has given these ladies a fresh vision for every day life. Many sit around for hours and hours, knowing they NEED to find a job, and that they NEED to eat, but not choosing to do so, because everything just seems so hopeless. This sewing project is giving the Widows and AIDS victims a new chance at life and excitement for the possibility of being able to support themselves and their children in the coming months and years. Even though many have never held a needle, or pushed down the pedal of a manual sewing machine, they are quick learners, and enjoy meeting together to learn and practice their English, too.
Here are three ladies, Naomi, Ruth, and Mary, who have AIDS. Jana and I were able to pray for them before we left to head back up to RVA.
On days like this, it’s somehow easier to hold my tongue from uttering a complaint……….