Love is in the air. With all the fanfare surrounding February 14th, as sweethearts the world over exchange gifts and celebrate, sometimes we forget that it is the simple things that show our love. 1 Corinthians 13:4 says “Love is kind…” According to the dictionary, kindness is “the quality of being friendly, generous, caring and considerate towards other people.” In Kenya, as in many cultures, few things show love like a meal shared together. The kindness involved in inviting over a friend, preparing something they would enjoy and getting to know each other while talking around the table, make a shared meal more than just fuel for the body, but more like a connection of the heart.

Recently Mr. Wesonga, our primary school principal, noticed two young boys clambering through a garbage dump searching for any salvageable food to fill their hungry bellies. Taking the time to talk to them, he learned that the boys were siblings who would have been in 3rd and 1st grade, but unfortunately their school had closed down during the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020 and had never reopened. There is no plan B for boys like these. Once a school closes in a place like Mathare, which already has a severe shortage of educational opportunities, many young boys end up dropping out of school. In addition, the boys’ family was struggling to make ends meet which meant food was scarce.

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For these two desperate boys in what seems like a hopeless situation, love was in the air. It was the love of a meal shared in our Mawewa School community, it was the love of Christ shared with one of the “least of these.” (Mat 25:40). Principal Wesonga welcomed the siblings for lunch at our primary school that day. While enjoying the meal together the children got to know more about our school and Mr. Wesonga learned about their family and the struggles they had experienced. Mathare is filled with similar stories of desperation and overwhelming need, but by the simple kindness of acknowledging the children, talking to them and inviting them to share a meal a connection was made - a connection between our Mawewa family and these two children. Through a simple act of kindness, the two boys experienced the love of Christ in action. Through this one connection, and many others like it in the community in which we work, we become Christ’s hands and feet bringing light into dark and desperate spaces. This Valentine's Day, as you exchange cards and gifts, share a meal or catch a movie with those you love, remember the simple acts of kindness we can all share with those who need it the most. Also, pray for us in our work in Mathare that we can continue to connect with the most vulnerable children and give them the opportunity to thrive.