Choosing to Care

This is my second trip to Kenya.  Last year I tagged along with a group from FPC Norfolk and this year I returned with a team from my own church.  And what I've noticed is that the first time I was here, I got exposed to so many different people, programs, and customs that I felt like a giant sponge simply trying to absorb all that was going on.  Returning for a second go around has allowed me to deepen relationships with folks who faithfully minister here in Kenya day in and day out--folks like Ruth, the administrator of Joy Village; Vinton and Linet, pastoral counselors at Nazareth Hospital; George, the principal at the Allamano School; and Michael, the director of the Holy Family Clinic.  Just as significantly, this second visit allowed me to open my heart more deeply to the children at Joy Village.

Last year, when I departed Joy Village after our two day visit, I left being very inspired and impressed by the loving care that is provided by Ruth and the house moms who have committed their lives to raising the orphaned children who live there.  This year, when our visit ended, I was even more inspired and impressed by the love and care provided there.  However, something else happened as well.  I found that my heart got indelibly imprinted with the names and faces of these children who have not only been orphaned, but have also been sexually abused and/or infected with HIV. 


That imprinting, I discovered, didn't happen on its own.  I realized when I arrived at the Village that I could be there without really opening my heart to the pain and tragedy that these children have lived through.  I could have shown up, played some games, made some crafts, and then departed having interacted with them, but without my heart being broken.  I could have been there with my heart being surrounded by self-protective measures.  And so I made a decision to be FULLY present, to open my heart, to risk feeling deep pain and sorrow.  I decided not to protect myself but to trust that if opened my heart to them, God could be entrusted with caring for my broken heart.  

And so I prepare to depart Kenya again with a heart that has been broken open more deeply.  And for that I am profoundly grateful.  Because I know that God is at work seeking to make me a more compassionate and committed follower of Jesus.  I leave Kenya not only more determined to do what I can to support the work of Tree of Lives and make a difference somehow in the lives of Naomi, David, Martin, and all the other Joy Village residents, but to allow God to transform me so that I might be a wiser and more compassionate presence with all who suffer.  For that, I am realizing, is at the heart of the gospel.  What an unspeakable blessing it is to share in the sufferings of Christ, that we might also share in his resurrection power.

Bryan Smith  

  

Keith McBain