Update from recent StoneWater trip to Open Arms Village, Kenya, Africa

StoneWater Goes to Africa's Open Arms Village - Fall 2010
            Tom and Laura Garrett, and Cindy Rogers, from StoneWater Church spent the first two weeks of November on a Soul Safari in Kenya along with a few others from the U.S. and the U.K.   They stayed in a lovely guest house in Open Arms Village. They delivered, sorted and stored the medical supplies, socks and other clothing items that were graciously donated by the people of StoneWater.  When the mothers saw all of the socks, they asked, "What do we do with all these extra socks?"  With tears in their eyes they exclaimed, "Thanks to you, all of our children will have plenty of socks for school.  They've never had that many socks at one time.  Tell StoneWater Church 'Thank you so much!'" 
          The team had the opportunity participate in family devotions led by the children.  Each evening, each home had family devotions, and none of the team members ever left a family devotion with dry eyes.  It was so moving to see God at work in the lives of the kids and to hear them share what they are learning in the Bible.  The team also attended worship service with the children, followed by a walk to a nearby waterfall where they spent an afternoon laughing and playing with the children.  Cindy loved the opportunity she had to teach at Open Arms Academy. The team also helped prepare for and attend the Dedication Ceremony of Open Arms Village.  This was a huge event, attended by more than 2000 people from the community including parliamentarians, tribal chiefs (something like governors), community elders, and several other dignitaries. A portion of the day's festivities was the ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of the new baby home which will soon be housing orphaned and abandoned infants.

          From Kenya, Tom wrote: Our team has had the opportunity over the last couple of days to go out to where these kids come from.  We have seen the dump ground where many of them lived and scavenged for food before coming to Open Arms Village.  We cannot begin to describe the horror of seeing young children living in a dump ground.  Some of these children participate in a drop in center, which we visited, where they can receive a meal, some vocational training, a shower, and clean their clothes.  We were all impressed with the way this center was run and one of Open Arms’ employees, a former street kid, is heavily involved with this ministry.  Also, one of the founders of Open Arms, has recently accepted a position on the board of that drop in center.  It is wonderful to see that kind of cooperation between organizations. 

We also had the opportunity to go out to Open Arms feeding program in a nearby slum where we fed and played with some of the poorest of the poor.  It was here that one young mother showed up with her hungry baby, asked for prayer, and was led to Jesus by Cindy Rogers.  These children are starving for our attention every bit as much as they starve for food.   We also visited a children’s rescue center which sends some children to live at Open Arms Village.  As deplorable and heart wrenching as conditions were in that center, we realized it was better than living on the streets or in jail. 

            We have also been impressed with the tremendous amount of support Open Arms is receiving from the local community around Open Arms Village.  The entire staff has done an excellent job of community relations.  It is exciting to see the local leadership have input into some of our programs here at Open Arms Village.
 

In a later update from Kenya Tom wrote:

            The first thing that caught me was the horrible stench and chocking smoke.  We kicked our way through the filth and garbage of the city dump that is home to many of the street kids. Following our young leader, Morris, through his former home – the city dump known as The Barracks to those who live there-we were all impressed with the way the street children clung to Morris.  We had not gone far before we were approached by a distraught young lady in tears.  She had given birth to her baby there in the garbage the evening before and the baby had died in the cold wet night.  She was pleading with us for some help in getting a burial place for her dead baby.  Evidently this is very common and Morris advised that rather than giving her any funds we pray with her, which we did as she knelt in the filth of the dump ground.

            It reminded me of a story that Open Arms founder, David, had told of a young street child that recently went to the local hospital covered with severe burns and laid outside the emergency center for three days, hoping for care and pleading for a drink of water.  The hospital refused both.  Eventually some other street kids arrived with some water before the boy died.  His fellow street brothers took his body back to the dump and there dug a grave for him. 

Continuing our trek through the garbage dump we were swarmed by street kids, high on glue, just longing for a loving touch.   I am ashamed to confess how difficult it was for me to hug or hold hands with these small grimy children.  Morris and David seemed to not even notice the grime; they simply saw and ministered to these needy objects of God’s love.

            A bit deeper into the dump we came to the “nursery” where the young mothers and their babies sleep.  It is just an area in the dump near a wall, no attempt at a shelter.  One young mother placed her baby in the arms of some of our ladies, desperately wanting us to take her baby and provide a place of safety and care.  It was heart wrenching to leave these children and babies in this condition and make our way back to the bus.

            A short time later we were comfortably seated with beautiful, clean, happy children in one of Open Arms’ group homes.  The older ones were finishing up their homework while the younger ones surrounded us wanting to play or tell stories.  Several of the kids in this group home had formerly lived in that exact same dump ground.  One of those boys, Isaac, was a former resident of that dump, and he particularly impressed me.  At about 9 years old Isaac was raising his two younger sisters, Rhoda and Naomi, before they all got separated and Isaac found himself struggling to survive on the street.  Isaac is now 14 years old, living with Rhoda, Naomi, and eleven other new brothers and sisters.  They all eat three healthy meals daily, have warm beds, get medical attention, a good education, and have a loving family.  Tonight the kids led the family devotions in this particular home, with no prompting from mom or dad.  They are all so grateful for all that God has given to them.  We truly felt that in one day, we had visited both hell and heaven.

            When asked about her time in Kenya, Laura replied, "We laughed and we cried. We played and we prayed. We talked about Jesus. We loved and we were loved."

          The StoneWater Team, Open Arms International, and the children of Open Arms are grateful to all who helped by praying, by giving, and by donating socks, clothing, and supplies.  Together, we are transforming Africa, one life at a time.