HONGERA MALKIA BEATRIX

Monday was Queen Beatrix’s of Netherlands 75^th birthday. Later today she will abdicate in favor of her son Prince Willem-Alexander after 33 years on the throne.  Prince Willeim-Alexander will then become the country’s first King since William 111.

The celebration will be marked around the streets in Netherlands by the Dutch people. It is said that about a million visitors are also set to pour into Amsterdam, and street parties are planned across the nation. Even here in Kenya there are plans to celebrate the life of the lovely Queen. It is set to be a joyous occasion. Royalties and dignitaries from other countries will attend the ceremony.

Queen Bea and her son Prince Willem

The Queen who also goes by the name Queen Bea has been a sensation in the Dutch monarchy. She is the sixth monarch from the House of Orange-Nassau, which has ruled the Netherlands since the early 19th Century. The Queen is stepping down for her son to take up the throne and become its new King. It is tradition in the Dutch law for the monarch to abdicate.

As much as royalty comes with the pop and glamor, it also comes with the tough experiences.   During her time as Queen, she has experienced traumatic events. In 2009, a would-be attacker killed eight people when he drove his car into crowds watching the queen and other members of the royal family in a national holiday parade. Another event would be where her other son, Prince Fiso, is still in a coma after he was struck by an avalanche in Austria.

This reminds me of the story of Jesus, the son of God. He was royalty though he did not live as one. He was born in poverty to a young couple who looked and lived an ordinary life. The carpenters’ son went around teaching in different places with disciples that were from the lower side of the society. He ate and had fellowship with what the Pharisees described as sinners. Nothing about him spoke of royalty, not even his appearance. In fact for a crown he wore a crown of thorns and yet he was still the only Begotten Son.

Jesus gave up his royalty for us. To show us the true face and heart of God. He was the example of true royalty. We became children of the light only when we believed that he is the son of God and thus we spread this light everywhere we go.

One thing that Jesus proved in his life was that true love is to lay down one’s life for another life. It’s the sacrifices that we make that change someone’s life for their good. My pastor shared with me once and said people will not always remember you for the big sacrifices that you made but they will remember you for the small sacrifices.

Queen Bea has sacrificed her throne for her son, Jesus did it for you and me. What about you? What sacrifice will you make?

Is This Real?

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Yesterday we held our monthly Riziki program in the Kibera Slum. It’s where our sponsored children meet with the youth leaders for 2 hours of fun, food and fellowship. This month’s meeting was special because those who are normally away at boarding school were home for the holidays.

Many of the boys have turned into young men who tower above me.

The reality of their dire situation became all to evident during the program. Remember, these are young people who come from homes where the average income is around $2 per day. If it wasn’t for our generous donors, education would be far out of reach for every single child we minister to.

Two examples stuck out to me about these kids.

One was when we were having a game with toilet paper. The idea was that two competitors would come to the horizontal broomstick and on the blow of the whistle unravel the toilet roll. The winner was the person who had an empty roll the fastest.

While in the West we would simply dump the toilet paper after the game, some of the leaders (especially the girls) carefully rolled it all up so they could use it. A toilet roll costs around 25 cents. To these young women it was a luxury. Many girls in developing countries don’t have the finances for sanitary products, fall out of school one week a month and suffer the embarrassment of having nothing at ‘that time of the month.’

Each person treated the toilet paper like it was a gift.

  

The other time was when I was doing an object lesson. This is where we use a physical object which relates to the theme of the day. I was to pretend to either rip or burn money. I chose a 50 shilling note – around 50 cents. I pretended to do both, and both times a cry of horror came from the kids.  They really thought I would do it and to them even that small amount of money could buy them some milk – something they don’t get a lot of.

This is the reality that many children face each day. What we see as a small, even miniscule thing can be life changing to them. Whether that be toilet paper or some money for food.

It was interesting that today we chose to have beef pilau made for their afternoon snack. It’s school holidays here in Kenya. Besides getting an education, our kids also get a meal at school. In the holidays it is more than likely that they will not eat at all during the day. Our friend Mariam made enough to feed a small army, which enabled all the kids to eat well, even going back for seconds. We were also able to bless other families as there was so much made for $30. 

While I’m grateful that I have a nice house to live in, the internet and a car. I am even more grateful that people get behind the vision to transform the lives of young people through the ministry of Afri-Lift.

Lots of work has been done, but there is so much more to accomplish. Let’s work together to let every child in Kenya know that God has a purpose and plan for their lives.

Look at this generation

42% of Kenya’s population is under the age of 15 years. We always talk about children and young people being the future leaders of our nations. Yet, if we took time out to look at our children, we would see that we as adults have a very long way to go.

Jesus actually said for us to become like children. Not petty people who fight over the latest toy, but those who marvel at the simple things of life, like kids who all stand around staring forever at an insect on the ground. Ones who like hanging out with friends without an agenda. Kids who don’t see colour, language or socio economic level.

The call to reach the world with the Gospel never excluded children. With this in mind, Margaret Aim, a co-founder of Afri-Lift is now spending much of her time in training children workers. While she ministers in many different countries, her main focus is on developing teacher of teachers within Kenya.

When I interviewed her a few months ago, Margaret’s passion for training effective teachers is obvious. Each trainee also mentors other teachers, who in turn become trainers of others. In the next few years, a million children could be reached with the Gospel.

The key to this area is the word ‘effective’. Sure, you can have a teacher up the front of hundreds of kids, but it doesn’t mean they are engaging, giving opportunity for salvation and discipleship nor creating an environment of faith which attracts new children.

Margaret uses storytelling a lot as well as creative play. Kids don’t want to be preached to, they want to participate in the learning process.

We need to stop treating children like little adults, they are not. Many children come from broken homes, have been abused, have hurt in their lives and are looking for someone to share Christ with them in a relevant manner. They need to know that God cares for them, that they aren’t just one of six billion people on the planet. They need to know that God has a plan and purpose for them NOW, not just when they get older. For many children in developing countries, life is about now, there is no tomorrow because you might not live till then. Building a vision for the future is a challenge.

Jesus said that the harvest is ready now, but the workers are few. People like Margaret Aim and her team are taking on the challenge to prepare for more workers.

Please pray that pastors and church leaders will see this ministry as vital in their churches and that doors of opportunity will open for our team.