What came into existence in Him was life, and the life was the light of men
And the light goes on shining in the dark; it is not overcome by the dark
On Wednesday, in the midst of the violence and increasing darkness, a miracle was taking place. A baby was born. Now we know that many babies were born on that day but this was different.
One of our Esther’s (see raising leaders posting on this blog) gave birth to a baby girl. Mercy used to go to school but her parents could not support her and she was forced to drop out in her second year of high school. Things at home were not good then and she was often forced to sleep outside. She has been involved in it all, even making money by hiding guns for criminals. One day she decided enough was enough and she turned her heart in an attempt to change. That’s about the same time that we met her. She was determined to go back to school and make something of her life. Yet even in her attempts to change it was very hard since now she did not have the income that she previously had. Things at home got worse and she came to the brink of committing suicide but just in time someone came into the room she was in and that stopped her. When we heard her story and saw her desire to change we could not turn her away. We got a school where she was accepted and started working towards her going there. Just then we discovered that she was pregnant.
At first we felt betrayed and she felt ashamed. She disappeared for the next few weeks probably out of fear and shame. We thought about it and we realised that what was done was done and we needed to find the way forward. We looked for her praying that she would not abort the child. When we found her she had come close but thankfully she had not done it. We continued walking with her though this time instead of school we were first thinking of how to prepare her for birth and to raise a child. She still was not welcome at her home and things were very hard. We prayed for her and with her. We shared what we had with her. We still considered her an Esther knowing that one day she will be a leader that will impact this generation.
This week on Wednesday she gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby. The significant thing about this is that Mercy represents hundreds of teenage mothers and thousands of single mothers in Mathare. These have battled with everything that hell and man could throw at them – sexual, physical and emotional abuse, rejection, depression, drug addiction, condemnation by the church and society who consider them the “bad girls.” Mercy is only sixteen going to seventeen. She does not understand why life has to be so hard. Yet in the midst of all this, she has been a vessel of God to bring forth a new life . We know that no life come forth but by God (John 1:3) and we receive this as a sign; that regardless of the odds that are against Mathare, life is springing forth and this life is a light that will dispel all darkness: the darkness of poverty, drug addiction, violence and abuse, broken families. Mercy has made many mistakes, just like many in Mathare have made many wrong decisions. Mercy has fought battles against a lot of things of which many were lost but the most important thing is that she still keeps fighting. Much of Mathare has been overcome by a lot of evil things but there are still those in Mathare who have refused to give up hope. Mercy is far from perfect and she will probably make many more mistakes but just by allowing this baby to live she has chosen life over death and we know she will continue to make many more right decisions. Today we celebrate new life in Mathare. We celebrate the fact that Mathare will shed of all it has been known of and will rise up as light that shines in the whole world. We celebrate the fact that Mercy’s child will not live the life that her mother has lived.
More than that, we needed about 90,000 Kshs for school fees and the December programme and on Friday (11th November) we received 20,000 Kshs from Kenya Shell Ltd.
In the midst of this celebration and the work that God has begun we remember that there is much work ahead of us. Just as Mercy must labour to raise her child, we too must labour. Our commitment cannot be short term; it must be until Mathare stands on her own two feet and can fend for herself.
Calm has begun returning to Mathare and we thank God for that but let us continue praying. It is your prayers that have made a difference. Together we can push back anything that rises against Mathare and our lives and together we can overcome.
