When in Kenya... Love So Much It Hurts
If you've ever talked to me for longer than about twenty minutes, it's very likely that we talked about Kenya. I have been enamored with Africa since the Lion King, and have been falling in love with it's people since middle school.
I am lucky enough to go to a church where my youth pastor is not only a pastor, but also the co-founder of a non-profit called Staff of Hope. Seeing the work they did and the pictures of the Kenyans they served tugged on my heart from a very young age. And so, even at 13 years old, I knew I had to go to Kenya.
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| From staffofhope.org- Please let me know if you would like to hear more about this fantastic organization- they do great work! |
During my sophomore year of high school, I heard there was a group going to Kenya.
I said, "I want to go to Kenya".
Jeff said, "Come on."
He must have been crazy. I was 15 years old, wildly immature, and probably more fascinated by the exotic nature of the trip than dedicated to service. I didn't know anything about Kenyan culture, food, or history. All I really knew is that I loved those people, and I had to go to Kenya.
Looking back, I am abundantly thankful for Jeff's crazy response. In a way, it reminds me of how Jesus calls the disciples. Those dudes were seriously messed up. But Jesus says, "Come and see." How grateful am I that the Lord uses even the most broken of us.
So, on my 16th birthday, I left for Kenya. And man I was clueless. There's nothing in the world that can prepare you for the culture shock of leaving your suburban American lifestyle and traveling halfway across the globe to a country in sub-Saharan Africa.
The traffic was atrocious. Kids ran alongside cars in the street. The billboards were as tall as my house, and giant birds roosted in the trees.
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| Nairobi surprised me- people walked in the streets despite the awful traffic! |
The differences didn't end there. As we traveled out of the city and further into the bush, things grew even more unfamiliar.
Goats and cows walked in herds across the roads, which bumped and twisted around small ravines. People walked wrapped in bright blankets, carrying tall sticks. Kids came pouring out of compounds to wave as you walked by. Dust billowed behind cars and came in clouds with the breeze.
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| "Traffic" out in the bush |
At first, it was fascinating, and exciting. It was truly like nothing I had ever seen before. My heart leaped with the wildness of it all. The people were amazing, so friendly and full of life. But of course that was not all. I started seeing deeper into the lives of these people.
I met a man with three wives. I met a girl younger than me with children, and a husband the age of my father. I saw the tiny house of my friend and his many brothers; which they didn't even own. I saw girls walking to get water when they should have been in school, and women walking miles to receive basic healthcare.
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| This Mama was one of three wives, and younger than me. |
As I got to know the Kenyan people, my love for them grew. As I got to know their circumstances, I hurt deeply for these people I loved. My dear friend Kerby sent me to Kenya with daily notes of love and encouragement. One said (and I have it to this day) "Love so much that it hurts." Never have I understood this statement more deeply than I did then. My heart broke for my friends. I was so confused. Why would God give me such a deep love for these people if it only caused me hurt? I felt helpless to create change, thoroughly unequipped to help them in their suffering.
I remember praying, "God, what would you have me do?!" It was a prayer of desperation, of anger and frustration. Had the Lord given me this love and hurt without reason?
My gracious God answered my prayer on that trip, although I did not realize it until this year. In the Nairobi Intercontinental Hotel, I heard the term "Public Health" for the first time.
Now, I have been studying public health for over a year. This August, I went back to Kenya. On my birthday, I met with a business contact in the Nairobi Intercontinental Hotel. We met to talk about AFRIpads, a side project I and my friend Dottie had been dreaming up while planning the trip. We bought 60 kits of reusable sanitary pads to take to the girls who live at the school Staff of Hope runs. These kits will allow the girls to take care of their periods for a year without having to spend money on expensive products. Girls that cannot afford these products often go without any sanitary product, and may even miss school for their monthly cycle. I learned about reusable pads in one of my public health classes, and was excited to be able to make them a reality for the girls.
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| Some of my Kenyan sisters at Oloile teaching us to dance! It is a privilege to know and serve these sweet girls. |
Three years after my desperate prayer of "God, what would you have me do?!", I was finally doing something. I was able to give back to the Kenyan girls whose need weighed so heavily on my heart. This public health project, little as it was, was an abundant blessing to me. Six years after I first wanted to go to Kenya, and three years after having my heart broken by my love for the Kenyan people, it had all come together. The Lord had a plan for it all. Public Health. The Lord was using my passion and my future profession to serve those that I deeply love.
God had been planning this all along, from the moment he set the desire to go to Kenya in my heart. From the time I was 13, the Lord had been planning my purpose and paving a way for me. As I sat in the Intercontinental Hotel on my 19th birthday, I knew I was right where God wanted me.
I truly believe this is only the beginning. The Lord has more for me in public health. His word tells us he will do "immeasurably more" than we could ever imagine. I don't know where He is taking me yet, and I tell myself daily not to run ahead on my own. For I serve a God who has made plans for me, "plans formed of old, faithful and sure".
Bwana Asifiwe! Praise the Lord!
Erin
