World Impact Ministries / Peter Youngren

  Everyday, – it seems it gets increasingly harder to say no to the endless stream of children that approach you for money or food on the streets of Nairobi. They have a hopefulness and an unspoiled innocence in their eyes as they look up into yours….and it breaks your heart as you realize that it is impossible for you to assist them all! That, in reality you are helpless on your own – just like they are….!

  Despite always having a desire to work with street kids – I never really knew how to approach it…? As I came here, I asked God to point the way and make the connections needed. But contrary to my expectations – God literally brought the ministry to me. With what started with the meeting of one single child – I now have 15 kids come to my door every morning. First, I met John; a 10 year old boy. He lives in the Soweto slum area– a couple of miles from our place…! His father died and the family was displaced to the streets due to the mother being unable to pay the rent. Without a husband, a job or a steady income, the small family is doomed to survive, living on the street on what they can find in the garbage piles or receive from begging.  But because John isn’t an orphan; he still has a mother and younger siblings – the last thing anyone wants to do, is to split the family up…..
 
  The situation in Kenya is gruesome! Poverty is rampant, jobs are sparse, food - costs are doubling and creating an inability for most people to afford to buy even the simple, most common foods and the national staples! The…

A trip of a different caliber…

In the past weeks we have been traveling much and have experienced many tribes, cultures and places. All together we have been in more than four different provinces through-out Kenya, all displaying a myriad of rich colorful history and multiple ethnicity; from Kisii to Kikuyu, Masai and Luo tribes.
At one place, a man greeted us with this sentence: “Welcome home” This greeting has continuously been resounding in my spirit - because, it really does feel as if I have come home!
The Gospel has taken us to remote areas where no white man has gone before…we have ventured along paths and trekked places situated in the interior highlands, – 3500 meters above sea level (catch your breath!), - places only passable by foot.

The preaching exposure has been great and varied – for me; a discovery of what it means to be a teacher and an evangelist: preaching to several hundreds of people in the small village squares; - stepping out of my comfort zone, only to find myself thriving on traveling and reaching the deeply remote areas of Africa; preaching the Gospel of peace to those that have not heard….

As I travel, I discover that Kenya is indeed a country of stalk contrasts: Only to be described as an oasis in some parts; lush and green, with an extreme abundance of rain causing the red earth to become a pool of slippery mud. In yet other areas; it is as dry as the brutality of a bleak desert, lacking water for months, even years on end….
In these last few weeks I have walked in mud to my knees, had trucks splash me down while passing me on the roads…I have been soaked to the bone, been covered…

September 08

A Godforsaken place……?

A week has passed by, and we have returned from our first trip. We spent 18 hours on a bus and arrived in Laisamis, in the north eastern territory, home of the Samburu and Rendille tribes. The area is very remote and the lack is tremendous - they have had no water in over a year; all the river beds are dry, the livestock are dying and the vegetation is burnt by the scorching sun. Outbreaks of Malaria and TB are attacking the children, who are defenseless and impoverished by these brutal circumstances. It breaks your heart to witness, yet the beauty and love that shines from these people overwhelms you! In fact everything about this place overwhelms you: Electricity is only found 4 hours drive away – the closest river also… (- imagine what it takes to travel by foot!)

The sun and the heat is tormenting – the drought disabling! Yet the sound of song travels in the wind; distant drumming accompanying children’s voices. The greetings from the locals welcoming you; the embrace and the hunger for the ‘good news’ – and the ignited hope in their eyes as you minister to them.
The beauty of the rugged landscape and the colorful tribal attire, the minimalistic lifestyle and the beauty of these people leaves you breathless and enriched.
The experience of having no means of transportation, no electricity, no cell phones and no water – not knowing the language and being in such a remote place really allows you to rely on God for everything!
It is like nothing remotely close to what you have ever experienced before – it leaves you vulnerable, challenged and stretched! But also full of compassion and love; it exposes what God…