Eunice and Alex

A week and a half ago (not this past Sunday, the one before) we were coming home from eating lunch at the Coffee shop. A woman, Eunice, was at our gate. Almost everyday someone comes by looking for a job or asking for money. It is very common, especially when they find out where white people live since there's a common misunderstanding that we have piles of money sitting around to be given out. That is why it is vital we live by the Holy Spirit and continually ask for discernment. So we pulled up to our gate and when our day guard explained her situation I immediately jumped out to go and talk to her. Bud went ahead to the house with the babies. She has been blind for over a year and now her small boy leads her around everywhere. The day before, she walked miles and miles to get to Kitale to walk around begging. Not sure how she ended up at our house but we know it was the Lord. It was a freak accident how she became blind, sounded like an episode of House. She was drawing water from a water well and the handle broke off and nailed her in the face. Slowly that day she got a headache and lost her sight. This happened before the post election violence. During the violence, the village she lived in was attacked. When the men came burning houses and raping women everyone ran but she couldn't run, no one helped her, and was attacked. She survived and ended up pregnant. She went to the doctor and had an abortion shortly after. We brought her in to have bread and water. Her and her son, Alex, were so hungry. The verse just kept repeating in my head "when i was hungry, you fed me, when i was thirsty you gave me something to drink, whatever you do to these you do to me". I could sense that she wanted to die and give up on life. She stayed across the street with a neighbor until God provided a solution. So we prayed. We told our house dad about her and shortly after a solution came. They had been trying to find a room to rent in the village for a house of prayer 24/7. The room they found, Isaac said could be for Eunice and her son. It is a room connected to the house of a family that is part of our church. The father is actually one of our night watchmen. We went and discussed it with them and the wife was in complete agreement. She was joyful about it and said Eunice could come and be her sister and they would eat together. Their only concern was to make sure she doesn't smoke or drink. The next day we took Eunice and Alex to their house. We introduced them and then discussed the conditions. She assured us she doesn't drink or smoke and that she follows Jesus. Isaac, our house dad, translated for me. We asked her a bit more about her past and that is when she shared of what happened during the post election violence last year. She said she had bought poison and wanted to kill herself. She didn't drink the poison and prayed that God would save her and provide for her. This was over a year ago and she said that now God has answered that prayer. She then for the first time smiled as she talked about how she used to be on the praise team in her church over a year ago and loves to sing. We told her about women's bible study on Mondays and the church on Sundays. She was very excited to come be a part. We could see the Lord starting to minister to her. We're going to go and pray more with her but wanted her to get settled and build some trust that she's in a safe place now. She has been there a week now and doing great. There were little confirmations for me that God was in this. That morning Hollie and I had stayed home from church while Bud went out to the property (we had just got back from Nairobi the day before, a 8 hr bus ride, and were exhausted). We were watching a DVD of Momma Heidi Baker from the heaven on earth conference that Hollie had just been to in Holland. During the sermon I felt the Lord start to place on my heart to minister to the "big" kid orphans as well. After all, we are all once orphaned before getting saved by Jesus and having God become our Father. Heidi talked about how sometimes we put God in a small box, or a big box, or a REALLY big box, but He wants us not to even have a box! I applied that to here and how sometimes I limit what we do to saving orphans. Of course it is GREAT to have a vision and be focused! Our main purpose here is Mattaw and rescuing orphans, raising them as future leaders and children of God. BUT, that can sometimes be my box. So I agreed that I wouldn't have a box, I wanted NO box! Hahahaha, God is so good. That afternoon right on our front porch shows up a big kid orphan. We later found out both of Eunice's parents have died and she now has absolutely nothing. No inheritance, no family, no food, notta, zip, zilch, nothing. I was blessed to be a part of God's big plan. I don't tell this story to bring us glory or recognition but to give God all praise and glory for saving Eunice and being her Provider! And another cool thing is when we took her to the new family in the village, the momma of the family that had accepted her and said they'd be sisters, well turns out they're from the same tribe and able to communicate in their tribal language! God is so cool. Isaac and Vivian have also had a heart for Eunice. Everyday one of them goes and gets Alex in the morning to come to school and then the other one will walk him home in the afternoon. They asked us if they could give their portion of lunch everyday to Eunice and Alex. Well, uh, YEAH! Please pray for Eunice and that God would restore her completely and heal hurt from her past. Also for Alex that he would be free to be a child again! We really want to start a feeding program for the really poor children in the village, feeding them lunch during the week. There is still a lot of hunger. We're still waiting and praying.

Alex leading his mom, Eunice, outside the living room of the family she now lives next to

Alex and Eunice

Created for this,
Kimberly