Breath-taking Mombasa and WEEP Women

Mombasa is, to say the least, gorgeous. Although in from the coast it rings similar to Nairobi with dirt sidewalks and burning trash, when you reach the white sands, the great blue Indian ocean, God's creation at it's purest...your breath is taken away.

I had the special opportunity to fly to Mombasa on July 12th with Vickie, the interns, and a few women from the Grass Valley team to visit the ladies in the Mombasa WEEP center. When we arrived, we stopped at the hotel that we were going to be staying in to drop off our luggage. But this was no ordinary hotel. It was a resort. And beautiful. It certainly juxtaposed upcountry Nyakach. After dropping off our luggage, we headed over to Nakumat (a local supermarket) where we bought food (rice, beans, milk, etc.), soap, and handkerchiefs for the women. Once we organized the food and goodies into separate bags, we drove to the WEEP Center where we met all nine women. In comparison to the Kibera WEEP Center, this center was significantly larger, had lots of natural light from windows, had a nice tile floor, and had ceiling fans, which are essential in the coastal heat.

The women welcomed us hospitably and with warm smiles, firm handshakes, and gentle kisses. We spent the afternoon with them exchanging smiles and languages, as some of the women did not speak very good English and we did not speak very good Swahili. They, of course, fed us a ton of delicious food, and as we finished up, Margaret gave a business presentation. She taught the women pointers, helpful hints, basic tips, tricks, and ideas for their individual future business plans. We encouraged the women to pursue a source of income outside of WEEP, so that one day they could "graduate" from WEEP like some of the Kibera WEEP women. As the women were encouraged to pursue starting their own self-sustaining businesses, they encouraged us in that most of them had already begun.

This was also a very sensitive time for the ladies because they have just recently lost Sarah, one of their fellow Mombasa WEEP women, to HIV/AIDS. She was too sick and was not able to make it. Every woman agreed that Sarah was a woman who brought beauty wherever she went, so we took some time to remember her and discuss ways we could commemorate the beauty she brought to life. My eyes began to well-up with tears as Vickie said to the women, "I have supported you, empowered you, helped you fight HIV, and gotten you back on your feet...but I know that if you do not know Jesus Christ and have confidence of where you will spend eternity...I have failed you." That's when I knew...Vickie is truly a woman after God's heart...a woman I aspire to be like.

After a wonderful afternoon with the ladies, eating, laughing, talking, and dancing in the cement-floored church connected to the center, we had each lady come one at a time, so we could pray over her individually and any specific requests that she had. I was moved by some of the requests of these women. Some asked prayer for strength to get through HIV/AIDS. Some asked that God would take care of their children, who they want to prosper but fear cannot provide for. Saumu, one of the women, even asked for prayer for her daughter, whose husband not only tried to kill her and Saumu, but has taken their children and is no where to be found. Another woman asked for prayer for her 21 year-old son who has been on and off suicidal and refuses to come home.

We laid hands on each woman and prayed for her and sent her off with a bag of food and other essentials. As we made our way to the van, we played with some of the street kids, took pictures with the women, and said our last "goodbye"s before heading off.

The rest of our time (about 1.5 days) in Mombasa was spent at the resort White Sands. We were blessed with our "seventh day"--a time to relax and replenish our energy. We slid down the water slides into one of the many pools, napped by the Indian ocean, lounged in outdoor bed with the ocean breeze, enjoyed each other's company, swung in a hammock, tore up the outdoor dance floor at night, snacked in the shade by the pool, shopped on the beach, and walked on the water. It was an experience straight from a dream. You have to understand that the tides of the Indian Ocean (at least where we were) are quite extreme. At one point, the water would be all the way up to the resort, and a few hours later it would be so far back that you could walk on the sandbank, which was covered in seaweed. We had fun, toes squishing in the gooey sand, exploring the various sea creatures on the sand bank. The reason I say we "walked on water" was because you could look out at the ocean and see people exploring the sand bank, but from the shore, they looked like they were simply taking a stroll on the Indian Ocean. I loved resting and delighting in God's creation. His beauty is definitely manifested here in Kenya!

The best part was...I never felt guilty for being at this resort. You would think that it would be too much of culture shock to go from staying in upcountry Kenya to relaxing at a 5-star resort in Mombasa. Instead, I was at peace because I was reminded of when a friend told me that it is not your living quarters that validate your mission--it's your heart. I knew that my socks were being blessed off, but I also took it gratefully. I mean....who complains about blessing? Shouldn't we instead be praising God?


Besides...what is poverty? Is it when a child cannot go to school because he or she cannot afford a uniform? Is it when an orphan has to walk several kilometers to fetch water that is not even pure? When you live in a mud hut? When you have to relieve yourself in a hole in the ground rather than a porcelain toilet? Whatever it may be...I pity not those who have little, but those who have everything yet do not have the joy of the Lord that I have seen in the people of Kenya.

Many Kenyans have something a lot of people will never have...complete and utter reliance on the Lord and desperate hope in God.