A couple weeks ago Andrew and I left Uganda to pick up Erin in Nairobi and begin the next leg of our trip. While this leg has brought us into the desert of northern Kenya where we have experienced a complete change of scenery, I still think about the Kivulu children’s home (the place where we stayed) in Kampala. I think of the home as an oasis in the desert, a light in the darkness, a speck of hope in the midst of overwhelmingly hopeless slums.
To see a group of boys posses such strong and honest charachter after coming from such harsh backgrounds is truly the hand of God. Boys who own no more than a couple sets of clothes, who see the computer, money, and ipod laying on our beds but dont think twice about laying a finger on them, no matter how tempting it may be. Boys who love eating and scarf down their food but only after offering it to Andrew and I and making sure we have received our plates first. Boys who have no money but upon washing your clothes and finding some change in your pocket return it to you, knowing its the right thing. It doesnt matter that that change means 100 times more to them than it does to you. What matters is they did the right thing.
My time there gave me the unique ability to see the progress of this ministry. All around us in the slums were street boys, kids often quite dirty or sick, who roam around sniffing airplane fuel and fighting one another. This is the environment most of the Kivulu home boys initially grew up in. Next there are street boys who take part in the programs the Kivulu home does. These boys still live on the streets but they are involved in various activities put on by the workers of the Kivulu home on Mon/Wed/Fri afternoons. These include crafts, tutoring, listening to Bible stories, and playing sports. These boys are in a process of transformation from the rough and unforgiving life on the streets to a life filled with more peace and hope initiated by the loving relationships of the program-workers. Then there are the eighteen boys who live at the Kivulu home full-time, who go school, have daily chores and nightly devotionals and are always under the care of the workers there.
The difference between the first set of boys and the third set of boys, the ones at the Kivulu home, is night and day. I must give credit to the selfless service of the three uncles (David, Alex, and Julius) who work at the Kivulu home and help run the programs for the street boys in the afternoons. They exemplify putting the gospel into practice, and there is no doubt the boys are influenced greatly by their servant leadership. I must also give credit to the three women (Abby, Jess, and Jesse) who see a need in the slums and adress that need. Who see these street boys for who they can be instead of who they are now. Who have the faith required to trust God and let him lead the way across the untrodden ground that they are travelling upon.
I can truthfully say this ministry has produced the most visible fruit of any ministry Ive ever seen. If I were to give a “fruit-check” this would be the first straightup A+. David, one of the uncles at the home who also grew up on the street, is a musician who has written a couple songs. In one of his songs is the line, “I may have begun my life on the streets, but my destination is great.” This line expresses an undeniable hope we can all strive for. When our mind is on the glory of our destination, it makes the struggles of the journey that much better, the duty of our calling that much more vital, and how we run the race all the more important.
Ben
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