Monday – Limuru

Buana Asifiri!  Praise the Lord!  “Praise the Lord that you woke up this morning; that you moved your legs and walked and came for fellowship,” shared one of the women from Limuru as we joined them for a time of praise and worship.  How easy it is to take this for granted for most of us around the world; here they do not.  With so much illness and difficult circumstances, many do not awake the next day, and they praise God that they ARE here for another day!  The gathering today was predominantly for grandmothers, the older women from the neighboring poor area in Limuru, about 30 minutes outside Nairobi.  Our hope was to bring them encouragement in the Lord for their many challenges.  We entered the hall to the accompaniment of their voices singing native praise songs along with a drum.  There is nothing like African worship! Joyous, bold, from their whole being, dancing, swaying, “presenting their body a living sacrifice…”

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After we were greeted and introduced, I (Diane)was given the opportunity to share about the role of grandmothers.  As I asked how many of the women were grandmothers, almost all raised their hand.  I then asked how many of them were raising their grandchildren – the vast majority continued to raise their hand.  An increasingly common situation here, because so many of the young to middle age population has died of HIV/AIDS, grandparents have had to assume the role of parents once again and taken on the challenge of raising children in their older years.  For those who had a hard time providing for themselves, often having their own physical challenges and most of them women now left alone, providing for yet more can be overwhelming physically and emotionally.  Not only do they grieve for the loss of their children, but now they face the challenge of providing and caring for children once again.  We read in the scriptures about Lois, Timothy’s grandmother, who nurtured him in the Lord as a child long before he was discipled by Paul.  What might his life have looked like had she not spiritually nurtured him.  Though taking up this role again is daunting, what extraordinary opportunity we have as grandmothers to invest in our grandchildren spiritually, emotionally and in these cases, physically.  But it is only doable in the Lord’s strength.  They were encouraged to care for themselves; if they don’t and become unable to care for these children, who is left to care for them?  Also, to feed themselves spiritually so that they have something to share with these children.  And emotionally-they are blessed to have this fellowship so that they can come together to pray for one another, bear one another’s burdens, support one another and live in community the way God intended.  We need one another as we walk with and trust the Lord.

More singing; just listening to the beautiful blend of voices is as a heavenly choir.  You cannot help but be moved and touched by it!  Then the embraces as everyone sings and dances; this is not “going through the motions.”  It is life!

Our teammate from SC, Kitty, then shared her testimony, reminding us that our children are gifts from the Lord, but they are on loan….for a season.  They are His gifts; we nurture them, love them, but aware that as He has given them to us, we in return realize that we must relinquish them back to Him.

As we closed with yet more singing, we were able to share bread, sugar and flour with the women to their great joy.  They had given up whatever earnings they might have to come and be with us, so these provisions will help them not to lack because of their taking the time to worship together.

We had the privilege of having lunch in the home of one of the leaders, Josephine, who later in life went to seminary to be equipped to minister and additional studies in counseling specifically to be able to help these women.  We met Lydia who established a home for street boys, giving up a good position with a bank to devote full time to ministry.  She shared the hardship and challenges of taking these boys off the streets and mentoring them, praying fervently for God to transform their lives; not at all an easy task.  The leaders of this fellowship are incredibly committed women, gifted women, who have taken their walk with God seriously, heard His voice and obeyed.  Sacrificial giving, denying self……these women are giving their lives so that others may live.

We returned to the retreat center overwhelmed by what we have experienced today; the power of the Spirit permeated every inch of the Limuru center today!  Such unselfish, unreserved love, such gratitude, such offerings of blessings we received today from these women who materially have so little and bear so much.  Our sisters; His daughters.  From very different lifestyles and circumstances, yet one in Him.  As they have reminded us several times already, black or white…..it makes no difference.  In Him, we are one!!  How incredibly we experienced that oneness today!!  Buana asifiri!