Spring Valley

I was not able to meet Christine in time this morning to go to the HIV clinic with her. I am disappointed about it, but there was no way to get me there to meet her in time. She took Danny, Thomas, Joseph, Big Mary, Carol and Little Mary today. They all returned to HOREC in the afternoon in generally good spirits and received their medications.

So, on to Spring Valley it was. We started the day with a trip to the supermarket to buy supplies for the food baskets we were going to prepare to deliver at Spring Valley. Spring Valley is the place where we went to church on Sunday. I guess you'd call it the Nairobi slums. There is a pastor and his wife there who have really turned things around for the people of Spring Valley. Nine years ago, Rev and Alice Stanley buried 418 children who died due to malnutrition. They started their program, which originally was to only feed and provide medical treatment to children (primarily babies), nine years ago. The program has expanded to include a school program. As the children grew, the school houses went up.

We got to visit three classrooms today. The children were so well behaved and just amazing. The Stanley's have 275 children in their program. They provide schooling seven days a week and food two times per day to these children. They often feed many children who do not go to school as well. One of these children was a little boy, John, who was so cute. I'd guess he was about four. He did not speak, so he was not able to attend school, and his foot was deformed from an accident. He followed us around a large part of the morning. Larry befriended him quickly and CJ got him to wave and smile. It was so great to see him liven up. WOW!

Anyway, the kitchen is so tiny. They cook the food over a wood fire in these big metal pots. The ventilation in the kitchen is poor. The woman who works in the kitchen has been cooking food for those wonderful children for the past nine years! Amazing! Alice told us that the typical salary for a teacher is only about $100 USD per month. They still need two teachers to fill their classrooms.



After a tour of the classrooms and kitchen and a little history from Rev Stanley, several of the students and a couple of teachers took us around to 14 homes to deliver food baskets and pray. I have to tell you this was so difficult. We met the families and asked for prayer requests. The people lovingly welcomed us into their meager homes. What a humbling experience! It was really difficult to keep it together for me there. Most had a very small home - maybe 6 x 6 or 9 x 9 - many made of mud with a tin roof. Many of the families had 2 - 4 children. Many were single parents. The homes were very dark - no electricity - and had no bathrooms. Most had limited furniture. It was really difficult not to cry and Shelley and I had to have our moment in the alley on the way back to the church. It just made me sick to my stomach to see such poverty when we all have so much. The amazing thing though is that the people were so grateful for what they received from us and their hospitality was beyond compare and, in spite of their situation, they all believe that there is a God, a gracious God. I remember leading the prayer in one of the homes. All the mother wanted was for us to pray for her and her children's lives. She had no special requests, no complaints, in spite of her situation. As I prayed, I just felt the Holy Spirit was there with us. It was so overwhelming. As I took little Rose's (she was one of the girls at the home) hand afterwards, my hand would not stop shaking. Words cannot describe what I was feeling at that moment.

Sidebar: Where was the super market on day one? We had a field day! There were so many things we could get for HOREC plus there were many supplies there we could have used during the week. It was really great! NFNY (note for next year)! Joe probably gets that acronym from his accounting days! : )