[caption id="attachment_1347" align="aligncenter" width="240"]
Jeff Conway and Teresa[/caption]Jeff Conway serves as the Pastor of Paoli Presbyterian Church in Paoli, PA. He recently returned from a Vision Trip to Kenya and reflects on his experience.How honored I felt to be able to spend time with the students and staff at the Kwa Watoto School. Jesus told us that, “we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us; and we will be Jesus’ witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Wow! What a beautiful witness of God’s grace I experienced as the staff and students sang out songs of joy that filled the neighborhood surrounding the school.I’ll share two specific, life-changing memories from the trip. The first was a family visit at a home in Jangwani, a neighborhood in Mathare. We sat with a woman who was the grandmother of one of the students at the school. Her daughter had died in an accident and she was now the caretaker of her granddaughter. When we arrived at her home, she had just found her older son who had been missing for a couple of days. Looking into his eyes, I saw the sad emptiness of a life deeply entangled in addiction. I think they were the most lost eyes I had ever seen. As we were listening to her story, it became clear how passionately she was clinging to the hope that can only be found in our Lord Jesus. Here she was dealing with so much trauma, living in a small shack and she became an encourager to me. She was so thankful for the ministry of eduKenya, pumping her fists in defiance to a broken world and celebrating the grace and hope that she was experiencing. It was a beautiful witness to the power of God’s Spirit.The second reflection is about Teresa, the sweet girl in the picture. We bonded the moment I walked through the school gate. We didn’t speak the same language, but we spoke the same language. It was so clear to me that she knew she was loved by God. It was so clear to me that she knew she was loved by her teachers. And, it was so clear to me what a life giving gift Kwa Watoto was for her. Again, she was the powerful witness to me. What a blessing.I want to thank Adam Gould and the leaders in Nairobi who allowed me to experience being a witness to God’s power. In a very dark, hurting sliver of creation, lives are being changed, healed and made whole through the power of God’s Spirit and the witness of eduKenya.