Today we visited a friend, and before I tell you about our visit I want to tell you a little of his story.
Ezekiel was born in the Mathare slums. Although he had 2 parents, and heard about the Lord, he chose not to follow Jesus. His childhood was hard and by age 12 he was drinking alcohol at night and going to school during the day. He says he had 5 “dark years” until he was 18 and was in prison for 3 months for a crime he didn’t commit. During this prison time, another prisoner led him to faith in Jesus and his life was changed. He was released the next day and pursued Christ wholeheartedly. He finished school and went to college and escaped the slums. And what did he do? Now that he had his freedom from the soul crushing, dignity stealing slums?
He went back. He went back and started a ministry to help children and men and women find their identity in the Lord and find hope and a future.
Today Ezekiel runs the Centre for Hope and Transformation in Mathare. His smile lights up the whole street and his genuine love for the people in Mathare makes you stop in your tracks. He started with a church, and then built a community center, and then built a school, and then a second school.
Today we saw the school right by the church and the community center. This school has about 180 children from preschool to grade 6. Each day the children are given 2 meals, and he said what an encouragement that is for the children to come. Plus it helps them learn better with a full tummy. Although it is a school break time, COHAT was feeding children lunch today. They spilled into the community center and started unstacking long benches to sit in. The benches were close together and the children were close together, and they all waited patiently for bowls for rice and lentils to come around. Older children helped younger children no one complained about someone else getting more or someone being first. They all ate with gratitude.
Upstairs at the community center, Ezekiel has a tailoring room where women can learn to make clothes. 8 pedal machines were in there waiting for students. The room next door is the library and computer lab. Children can come to study or do homework or learn how to type.
The church was under construction, and the main floor sanctuary was complete but the upstairs still in progress. The concrete floors and walls were obviously new and the children gathered in the sanctuary for crafts. We painted fingernails and the children made a windsock craft with paper bags and streamers. It was fun to see the children flying them outside later in the day.
I wish you could meet Ezekiel and be encouraged by his smile and his hope.
I didn’t take many pictures in Mathare. It felt like poverty tourism to show the small homes and businesses and people trying so hard to provide for their families. I took a mental picture of Rob and Ezekiel together, each encouraging the other.
Pray for Ezekiel, his wife, Concepta, and their 3 children. They live just outside Mathare, but you can imagine how the ministry calls for sacrifices from them all.
Pray for Duncan and Clinton who are on staff at the church. They too grew up in Mathare and made it out, and come back to minister to the people.
Ezekiel was born in the Mathare slums. Although he had 2 parents, and heard about the Lord, he chose not to follow Jesus. His childhood was hard and by age 12 he was drinking alcohol at night and going to school during the day. He says he had 5 “dark years” until he was 18 and was in prison for 3 months for a crime he didn’t commit. During this prison time, another prisoner led him to faith in Jesus and his life was changed. He was released the next day and pursued Christ wholeheartedly. He finished school and went to college and escaped the slums. And what did he do? Now that he had his freedom from the soul crushing, dignity stealing slums?
He went back. He went back and started a ministry to help children and men and women find their identity in the Lord and find hope and a future.
Today Ezekiel runs the Centre for Hope and Transformation in Mathare. His smile lights up the whole street and his genuine love for the people in Mathare makes you stop in your tracks. He started with a church, and then built a community center, and then built a school, and then a second school.
Today we saw the school right by the church and the community center. This school has about 180 children from preschool to grade 6. Each day the children are given 2 meals, and he said what an encouragement that is for the children to come. Plus it helps them learn better with a full tummy. Although it is a school break time, COHAT was feeding children lunch today. They spilled into the community center and started unstacking long benches to sit in. The benches were close together and the children were close together, and they all waited patiently for bowls for rice and lentils to come around. Older children helped younger children no one complained about someone else getting more or someone being first. They all ate with gratitude.
Upstairs at the community center, Ezekiel has a tailoring room where women can learn to make clothes. 8 pedal machines were in there waiting for students. The room next door is the library and computer lab. Children can come to study or do homework or learn how to type.
The church was under construction, and the main floor sanctuary was complete but the upstairs still in progress. The concrete floors and walls were obviously new and the children gathered in the sanctuary for crafts. We painted fingernails and the children made a windsock craft with paper bags and streamers. It was fun to see the children flying them outside later in the day.
I wish you could meet Ezekiel and be encouraged by his smile and his hope.
I didn’t take many pictures in Mathare. It felt like poverty tourism to show the small homes and businesses and people trying so hard to provide for their families. I took a mental picture of Rob and Ezekiel together, each encouraging the other.
Pray for Ezekiel, his wife, Concepta, and their 3 children. They live just outside Mathare, but you can imagine how the ministry calls for sacrifices from them all.
Pray for Duncan and Clinton who are on staff at the church. They too grew up in Mathare and made it out, and come back to minister to the people.