Ngila Needs Jesus
By Dawn Brown
“The primary responsibility of Christians is to the poor
within the body of Christ, but the Bible also forbids us to neglect the poor
outside of the church.”
~ Timothy J. Keller ~
Ngila
is a widowed woman who receives help from Child Arise and she is not a Christian. She is an example of how Elizabeth Mativo
shows the love of Jesus to those outside of the church.
On
our 2012 Summer Trip to Kenya, we were told there is a big problem with men in
the community and alcoholism. They drink
“illegal brew”, which contains strange and deadly ingredients, like battery
acid. It’s cheap and speeds up the
fermentation process. Ingestion has
killed many young men. Some begin to
drink to dull the pain of being unable to provide for their families, even
though they know it will kill them. They
become addicted.
Little
did we know when we arrived in Kenya, we would go to a location where this
“illegal brew” was made. When visiting
one of the widowed women, a widowed man told Elizabeth about a place where this
was going on. He told her about some
small children there that needed her help and said he would take us. He too, was addicted.
We
followed him over the mountain trails until we came to the place. There were men sitting all around. Some of them had been classmates of
Elizabeth’s son, Joseph, who was with us, but they looked much older, resulting
from their drinking habits, we were told.
 |
| Some of the men we met at Ngila's. |
Elizabeth
was introduced to Ngila, an old woman.
There were several children in this environment; not only the alcoholics
hanging out getting drunk, but horrible poverty. Elizabeth recognized two older
children. She told us they were a part
of her Saturday Bible lesson and meal, but she didn’t know anything about the
younger four. We learned they were all
orphaned and Ngila, a widow, cares for them.
They are her grandchildren.
Once
Elizabeth found out about all six orphaned children in her care and saw the way
they lived, she told us that the younger ones would be invited to the Saturday
Bible lesson, where they would also get a meal. She invited Ngila to join the women’s group. The younger children started coming to the
meal and lesson too. Ngila’s orphaned
grandchildren benefit from your
donations to Child Arise.
Elizabeth made a point to visit Ngila, encouraging her,
praying for her and occasionally would bring her a bit of food. She let her know that Jesus loves her. She told her she would be welcome in the
church and the widow’s group, should she ever want to attend, but Ngila never
came.
Since our trip last year, another of
Ngila’s daughters died. She had two
children and her husband had already died.
Now Ngila is caring for eight of her orphaned grandchildren.
I was able to have a
conversation with the oldest boy when we were there and I believe he is a
follower of Jesus through the Bible lessons and feeding program on Saturdays.
Anna Diaz, on our team, saw that he
had ripped out the back of his pants. We
went to our luggage and Anna pulled out a way to large pair of jeans. We cut some
twine we brought with us, so he could use it as a belt to hold the jeans
up. He was thrilled and so very
thankful. He just kept smiling and
thanking us the rest of the day!
 |
| Ngila & her six grandchildren we met. |
In August of this year, the government
finally raided these small but deadly, illegal operations that are located all
over Elizabeth’s area. This is a very
good thing, but it presents a problem for many living in extreme poverty who
were able to feed their families through this small income. Poverty alleviation is complicated.
Ngila was jailed for her part in this crime. Kenyan prison conditions are considered
deplorable and inhumane by international watchdog groups and have drawn the attention of the
U.S. State Department.
Ngila spent many weeks in jail until
some were able to plead for her release.
On her first Sunday out of prison, Elizabeth Mativo reports that Ngila
was in church for the first time! She
has continued to be in church on Sunday mornings as of this writing.
 |
| After Ngila's release from jail, Elizabeth continues to visit. |
Please
keep Ngila, her grandchildren and others like her in your prayers. Just like you and I, they need the hope of
Jesus; His love and His forgiveness.
Without it, no amount of food or school fees will mean anything, but
with your donations providing these material things to those unbelieving
households, it just may be what our Lord uses to draw them to Himself!
Prayer Requests
- Pray for Ngila that she can accept Christ and leave her wayward behavior.
- Pray for protection of the children in Ngila’s care and that they will follow Jesus.
- Pray for wisdom to know the best way to help the ladies and children. Pray as I prepare my lessons.
- Pray that the Word of God will reach each of them.
- Pray for the drunkard men to leave their illegal brew, come to the Lord and live productive lives. Some have come to me requesting Bibles. Pray that I can have provision to provide them.
- Pray for our Country. We suffered a major loss with the burning of our airport which literally burned to ashes. Shortly after that one of our Nairobi malls was attached by terrorists and many were murdered. This has caused a strain on our economy. Pray for cleansing of the nation as well as better economy.
Donations can be made to
Child Arise Kenya
Widows & Orphans Ministry
827 5 Ave Dr W, Andalusia
IL 61232
309-798-2596
dawn@childarisekenya.com
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ChildAriseKenya.com
Ngila's place at the time of our visit.
