A team from Hope Community Church in Springfield, IL just returned from an 8 day trip to see our partner in Mathare Valley, Kenya.

Team Member: Rebecca Harbauer (pictured here) returned with these words…

“Abject poverty abounds in Mathare Valley. No combination of words are picturesque enough to describe the sights, sounds, smells and surroundings one experiences as she walks through the slum valley being greeted by tiny extended hands and staring into toddler eyes that still cling tightly to hope. Sounds of loud music…children laughing…visions of grilled entrails…children bathing in small plastic tubs…jagged tin jutting from the roofs of 8 x 8 rusted, tin shanties…mucky water running through the streets….this is how I describe Mathare Valley—not a place one desires to call home.

It would be so easy to return to the United States after eight days and forget what I saw and be thankful that I do not live like this. It would be so easy to remain a tourist in a foreign land snapping pictures and forgetting the names of the people who crossed my path. But, I can’t. And I won’t. I want to etch the experiences into my memory so that God can use me as a vessel of faith, hope and love. And I want to etch the names of the people I met into my heart so that we remain connected.

Visiting the slum and the orphanage had a profound effect on me. But, what touched me to the very core are the stories of the people I was privileged to spend time with. The individuals who run the various churches around the area, the teachers who work in the schools and at the orphanage, the women who are the strong support for their pastor husbands, and the people who have hopes and dreams and aspirations no different from mine. These are the stories that will affect lives…the lives of those in Kenya and the lives of those here at home.

What did we do while we were there? We brought hope and a future as it states in Jeremiah 29:11 through one God…through unity of the Spirit. We did not come with western ideas to fix the African world. We came with a humble spirit and allowed them to teach us what relationships are truly about. I have learned what profound faith is truly about.”

To read more about what Bright Hope is doing in Mathare Valley and for opportunities to Donate: CLICK HERE!

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2009 at 4:05 pm and is filed under Africa. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.