Driving to northwest Kenya to the Pokot area on the bumpy dust filled roads for hours on end, I had no idea what I might experience. A mere two weeks earlier God called me to Kenya to meet women and girls in the remote Kenyan bush of Pokot.

I met a woman named Mary under a tree at the Kodich Children’s Home. Mary has seven children with her husband that she wed through an arranged marriage in her early teens. They immediately began having babies, like many of the twelve-year old Pokot girls. As part of the cultural traditions of many indigenous tribes,

Mary underwent a practice in her early teens called Female Genital Mutilation (otherwise known as female circumcision), a ritual that signifies her readiness and faithfulness for marriage.

For years Mary has worked tirelessly night and day in the harsh bush climate to find ways to feed and care for her children and survive with little to no income or support from her husband.

Though Mary shared a multitude of problems about the hot dry arid climate, remoteness of the area, rampant diseases with little medical access, lack of clean water and sustainable sources for food and reliable income, those were not the worst problems for her.

The most painful thing for her to share was her deep disappointment about the lack of support from her husband or any Pokot men for that matter. When Mary wed her husband he gave her one goat to take care of, though like most of the Pokot men, he never cared for the goat, or their children or the household in any way.

Mary’s husband does not work and will not bring income of any kind into the family. Her husband, when he did show up, was abusive and dismissive to the whole family.

Mary got silent and angry when she added the final point to her story. This husband of hers (of which she never even told us his name) had just left her for a twelve year old girl that he planned to marry and have more children with.

Some of Mary’s children now stay at the Kodich Children’s Home. She prays daily for someone to sponsor her children through Kensington Community Church’s sponsorship program so that they will have food, water, shelter, and education. Mary has not reached the point of total desperation because of the loving Christian environment of the Kodich community….at least not yet.

This story, unfortunately, is not uncommon at all. The purpose women in the Pokot society serve is to provide a marriage dowry to their fathers, bear children and do labor. Child forced marriage, lack of education and respect for girls, female circumcision, overworked girls and women raising large families and supporting them by themselves, absent and unsupportive husbands, polygamy, rampant diseases, maternal and reproductive health issues, malnutrition, starvation, and deep cycles of poverty, are the just norms of daily life among the Pokot.

Despite these challenges, Mary says there is good news. God is at work bringing women together in community to change their situation. When we asked Mary about other women to talk to, we found out that through the local church, there is already a group of 30 women who have bonded together to collectively supporting each other emotionally, spiritually and economically. This women’s group gets together weekly for ministry, fellowship and collaborative creation of income to feed and take care for their families.

I learned that the group Mary is part of has a treasurer to manage their collective money, five community goats, and creates income from selling honey and beans. When I went to the Kauriong Children’s Home, which is even more remote, I was surprised to find an even larger group of 62 women there.

The group makes and sells beautiful beaded artifacts, evangelize in neighboring villages. They also support each other in prayer, singing and fellowship.

These women have great determination, ingenuity and aspirations. Both groups shared similar dreams of launching additional income generating projects such as sewing and selling clothes, making jewelry and baked goods and starting a rental guest house business.

Their dreams will require training, equipment and minimal capital for supplies to make their dreams a reality. They already know the value of sharing their knowledge with others, which would provide the girls at the children’s homes an opportunity to learn practical skills for their future.

As I left the women’s group at Kodich, I finally understood why God sent me there and why we need to care about their plight. The women were singing and dancing in their native tongue with great gratitude for us coming to talk with them for an hour. When I asked what they were saying as I was leaving, I heard they never had a white woman come and “just love them for who they are.”

The women and girls of Pokot deserve to know the love of God and live out the plan that He has for them. To feel valued for who they are is the foundation to inspire a change in their situation. We, all of us, can give them that by supporting the training and resources needed for sustainable income, valuing who they are regardless of gender, and most importantly, showing them they are worthy and loved in the name of Jesus Christ.

Around the world, developing women and girls has been recognized as a critical strategy to break the cycles of poverty. When we educate girls, they have opportunities to contribute to their communities, generate income and raise healthier and self-sustaining families. When we empower women, we transform communities.

Please pray for God to reveal to the Pokot the value of girls and women and bless them with the sustainable support and resources they need to prosper and thrive.

God is in the business of healing hearts – molding, shaping, and refining us for purposes far beyond what we can comprehend or imagine. Isn’t it interesting that throughout this process God leads us to places that we resist the most?

I have had a heart for serving the poor since I first came to know Christ as my savior. It seemed natural to allow the grace and love flowing into me to pour out into others in need of the same hope and healing. I began serving on mission trips in both Mexico and Ecuador.

I loved it and I witnessed God work among his people but I still had a bit of holy discontent, knowing that God desired something not better but different for me. I continually heard God speak to me about Africa, and, in typical human fashion, I consistently turned him down.

In the summer of 2008, I could no longer deny the stirring in my soul. I traveled to Chemolingot, Kenya for the first time with Harvester’s International Ministries, and I was ruined for the people of Africa. We were mutually broken. Their plight became my plight, their burdens my burdens. The task of God’s people is rooted in Christ’s mission. Very simply, Christ preached the good news of the kingdom in word and in deed, and he particularly delighted in loving the hurting, the weak, and the poor. It is my privilege to follow my King’s footsteps into places of brokenness to do the same.

God recently provided for me to serve at Chemolingot once again. In October I traveled on a medical mission team composed of an incredibly talented group of Americans and very generous Kenyan nationals. For two weeks, we rose before the sun and traveled deep into the bush to set up mobile medical clinics to treat members of the Pokot tribe, the very poorest of the poor.

In my mind, these people are the true treasures of Kenya. To define the travel as off road is grossly reducing the difficulty of reaching these people. Folding chairs under trees emerged as makeshift exam rooms, and plastic tables with rope barriers became pharmacies. At times it was disheartening and difficult. We saw many injuries and afflictions that could have easily been prevented in the United States.

I cried and prayed over an infant on the verge of death as I held her in my arms. Yet – victory! God proved himself bigger than our convenient American medical technology, more powerful than our brightly colored packets of medications, and mightier than the goals we set out to accomplish. God was present. Because of his presence, countless wounds were successfully treated, illnesses diagnosed, medicines dispersed, and hearts healed. Yes, hearts were healed.

Many Pokot who walked miles to receive medical treatment also heard the life-changing message of Jesus Christ for the very first time. Our evangelism team cleaned ears, put drops in dusty eyes, but most importantly, they linked the provision of medical care with the hope that can only be found in the Lord. One of my favorite characteristics of the ministry of Harvester’s is the distinction that American teams strive to work with, not for, the national people.

At each clinic, the Pokot were connected to an indigenous pastor who will continue to build into the nationals and provide spiritual instruction on an ongoing basis. I praise God for the leaders he has put in place in Pokot to carry forth this vision.

At Chemolingot, the growth and progress of the church and orphanage was encouraging. I witnessed firsthand the ways in which our efforts and support from the USA are making a tangible difference in the lives of many. On Sunday morning, the church was filled to the brim with faithful worshipers, hanging on Pastor Yusuf’s every word.

Our team had the opportunity to provide and serve a filling meal to each and every child residing in the orphanage, as well as the general church population. Watching children realize with wide eyes that plenty of seconds were available, while sipping their very first soda, made my heart burst with gratitude for those generous donors who made such an event possible.

Buildings that were mere dreams in progress during my last visit are now dormitories holding children who sleep peacefully, knowing they are safe and cared for. A school has been established to educate these kids and opened doors now lead to endless possibilities.

There is great joy and restoration occurring at Chemolingot; however, there is still much work to be done. The aforementioned dormitories require additional beds and mattresses in order to accommodate children waiting to move into the orphanage.

The school is a temporary building and children sit on rocks or even just the dirt floor to learn to read and write. The dining hall is still empty of tables and chairs. The need is great, but our God is greater. My prayer is that our actions and response to these needs will stem directly from God’s leading.

My words are not big enough and simply cannot adequately describe my heart and vision for the people of Africa. For my fellow team members, and myself, two short weeks in Kenya have again proven to cultivate many years of heart-altered living.

The red dirt that was packed beneath our feet as we traveled the roads and paths of Kenya lingers. It is caught in our photographs and smudged into the fabric of my backpack. Best of all, it stained several of my t-shirts. This vibrant hue that pops up at odd times and in inconspicuous places makes my heart smile wide and causes me to love folding laundry, which really says something.

If you have not had the opportunity to travel and minister with a Harvester’s mission team, I encourage you to pray about it. You’ll impact the lives and hearts of many, and who knows, you might just end up with a healed heart of your own. I did.