Translation………
If I give everything I own to
the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love,
I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do,
I’m bankrupt without love. [1 Cor 13:3]
Analysis……
“The most
important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship
we maintain
and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship.
That is all
God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is
continually
under
attack.”
[Oswald Chambers]
Robin:
Today
due to road construction, we ended up lost in a slum. While Jess has no
concerns and plenty of people she can quickly reach via cell phone for
directions, I am a little more wary about what people might think this white
woman is doing in a slum.
Later in the same neighborhood as we entered a dark stairway up to a
music recording studio to visit some friends of Jess’s, it was heartwarming to
me when Millicent turned around and without a word, took my hand to lead me
into more uncharted territory. For
me, that small gesture was all about relationship, love, and sacrifice.
 |
| Millicent, Tamara and Robin at Kimuga fram |
Jessica:
I
sent mom with Grace to visit the manyatta of Joseph Kiranti’s family in Kibiko
on Monday. Joseph has spinabifida and has had both his legs amputated. He is
sponsored to attend a special school. Where Joseph lives is Maasai hill country
and could be a movie set it is so beautiful. I wanted mom to meet Joseph and
his mother Hannah and her many other children because they are such a
loving family. You can’t help but come away from Joseph’s house without a warm
fuzzy feeling in your chest.
While mom was in Kibiko, I went to Ngong to
get Cecilia off to school again after mid-term break. Cecilia is so grateful to
be in boarding school. I paid for her first term in school with my own money
because I feared her staying idle in the slum. I am praying that God will raise
up a sponsor for her so she can finish her education. While I was with her the taxi driver cum
pastor who had taken her to school two weeks before called to ask me if I could
assist a woman in his church who is living with HIV. I knew if people heard I
helped Cecilia’s mother, who is also HIV positive, more would come! [More on
that in a future blog].
And then James, the Maasai man, in whose
house I stay at Ilkiloret had asked to meet with me. He brought along his
nephew, Silas to translate. We talked about a young boy who lives with them who
needs a sponsor and then he surprised me by telling me that while I was in the
states they had been praying for me. “You are one of us,” James said. “Part of
our family. You are always in our prayers.”
When I stay in Ilkiloret I always listen
for my name as Rebecca prays in Maasai before we go to sleep. I thought she was
just praying for me because I was under her roof that one night, but no…every
night even when I was thousands of miles away, they prayed for me. That is
relationship, love and sacrifice…
 |
| Joseph preparing to leave his family and return to school. |
 |
| Robin is honored to be invited into the family manyatta. |
 |
| On the way to Joseph's manyatta, we pass other Maasai. |
Some
people here have chastised Jessica for taking in a 16-year-old street girl and
her 2 month old baby. They worry about Jessica and whether at some point she
will be hurt and ask if she knows what kinds of sacrifice this will entail on
her part. But we know that God loves each of us and that we are to love each
other and that love is action, not words, that love is self-giving and should be sacrificial and that
it is all about relationships. In just a little over a week, our lives have
been enriched by these two beautiful children of God….and when that precious
baby coos at us, we forget about walking her in the middle of the night.
 |
| Jess and I enjoying God's beautiful new gift of life, Tamara. |
Jessica:
I
was a little concerned about spending 12 weeks with my mother; 6 in the US and
6 in Kenya. That is a lot of togetherness for any mother and adult daughter but
especially for two who haven’t lived on the same continent in a few years. It’s
not that I don’t love my mother. I do. While we have gotten on one another’s
nerves once in a while, I needn’t have been concerned. There is something so
resilient about a mother/daughter relationship. I guess it’s the unconditional
love, understanding of one another’s characters and the history that we share that
has made this time together so easy. Mom was pretty skeptical about my choice
to be a missionary because it meant not being financially independent. She
understood my desire to serve and supported that…but was always hoping I would
find another way to sustain it! Now she has seen my life in Kenya for herself. She has
met my friends and seen the relationships I’ve built. She has seen the
difference this ministry has made in the lives of the people assisted and in my
life. And she has pronounced it good.
 |
| With Teddy B and Paul who helped make the "Umeniwezesha" video last year. |
Robin:
On
the 19th I have to leave, but I will go back home a different person
than the one who arrived here 6 weeks ago. In my final blog at that time, I
will tell you about things I have learned about Kenya, myself, and most
importantly, my daughter.
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