Unfair. That is the only way to describe the request I made and I quickly realized just how unfair my request was. We had picked 12 locations throughout the Western section of Kenya that seemed to be the hardest hit by food shortages and rising prices. The people in these twelve areas were hungry and desperately needed any help they could get.
The fund raising for the “Forgotten Families” of Kenya went well. We had raised enough to feed between 350 and 400 families for a month. Because of this I had asked each pastor to pick the 36 most desperate families in their area. When we arrived in Namorio, our first stop, I quickly realized how unfair my request had been. There were 85 people waiting to get a portion of food.
How do you choose 36 when all are hungry? You don’t. This scene played out time and time again over the next seven days. There was nothing we could do but stretch what we had. When the week was over we had given food to nearly 750 families, doubling what we had planned for. In the end they received enough food for about one week, and they will be receiving an equivalent amount this week. We were afraid to give them the entire amount at once because it would have made them prey to bandits and desperate neighbors.
Although what they carried would have to be stretched to feed their family for a week,(one meal a day) they were thankful. In some cases they waited for hours for us to arrive and upon our arrival they danced and sang in thankfulness to God. I have tried to come up with a comparison that you and I might connect with but it is difficult. We are so blessed that we simply can’t understand this kind of gratitude. I doubt few of us if any, have ever had to live on one meal a day, much less wonder where we would get that meal?
One of the most touching scenes I saw occurred in the remote village of Kulisiro. One of the ladies who had just received her portion started for home with her arms full. Just a short way down the road she stopped and talked to another older lady she had met on the road. As I watched she took her small bag of rice and poured a portion of it in the old ladies scarf. From the little she had been given, she shared. I suddenly felt embarrassed in my own giving and sharing. It was at that point that the Lord ratcheted up the pressure on me. We were led to a small two room mud house behind the shack that served as a church where we given a meal of chicken, chapatti, and rice. The entire church had pooled together their resources to honor and thank their visitors.
The generosity and willingness to share of the little they have with others is amazing. They share from their lack while we share from our abundance. We walk away thinking we have done something great. I wonder who is doing the greater work.