The city of Mombasa, Kenya has so much life. During the day, cars, tuk tuks, boda bodas, buses, and matatus are constantly moving along the roads. People walk from every direction. Market stands and umbrellas line parts of the road. There is not a corner of the city you could walk without seeing someone. At night, life moves indoors mostly. Music plays from restaurants and people can be spotted talking and hanging out with those around them. This is life in Mombasa. Yet in the middle of all that is seen, people are hurting and lost.

One area my team and I have been joining God in ministry is at a park in Mombasa. Our ministry host introduced us to a friend in Mombasa who has a football (soccer) ministry at the park. The first day we came to the park, we were told that the men on my team would get to play football with the boys at the park and the women on my team would get to spend time with the women and children in the park. I do not think that anyone on our team was prepared for the park and what we imagined we would be doing.

We arrived for our first day at the park and of course all the kids wanted to shake our hands and say hi. One of the first things you would see upon entering this park is that many of the kids hold a plastic water bottle with a yellow base. The kids hold the bottle up to their mouth as they breathe. We quickly figured out that the yellow substance was glue, and it affects the kids in a way that makes them “high”. The second thing you would notice is people sleeping on the ground all around the park. We had entered their home.

As the men joined in for football, us women began building relationships. A couple of us had small conversations with some of the moms in the park and a couple of us hung out with the kids. That first day consisted of simply sitting with people. Me and one of the women on my team watched the boys play football as we held a child or two. The other two women on my team sat with a mom or two and had conversations as they watched football. The conversations each of us had varied because some people knew English well and others did not.

I was holding a young boy and trying to figure out his name and age. He did not understand and was silent. As I held him, I noticed that he had patches of skin that were different colors. I tried to figure out what had happened, but again he did not understand. Eventually our friend who leads the football ministry at the park came over and helped translate. In that course of time, I figured out the boy I held was 3 years old. The marks on his skin were from a time when he was burned. When I heard that, my heart broke. My teammates later expressed some of the pain they had learned of during conversations in the park. In the short two hours that we had been at the park, we had seen so much brokenness.

We came back to the park a few days later, and then a couple days after that. We have been a few times now, and the brokenness has only seemed to grow. Relationships have deepened and people recognize us, but the needs remain. Though the same three girls run up to us women with smiles every time we arrive at the park, they still ask for food. Though the women now know us as friends, they still need money so their children can go to school. Though the young children love to run and play on the monkey bars, they are still fighting with each other for no reason. There is so much heaviness.

BUT GOD. But God, Abba Father, is faithful. Every day we go to the park, He strengthens us. Though is it hard, He gives us eyes to see what He sees. He has filled us with compassion and love that is not from this world. Jesus has shown through us in ways we could not ask, think of, or imagine. Our Father has been faithful to listen to our prayers and gracious to answer some of them. One thing about God is that He cares. He cares so much. He is saddened to see the pain and the hurt. I imagine Him simply sitting with and hugging every person in that park. He loves them all so much! What a blessing it has been to see the kids in the park with the glue bottles and get to play with them! Most of the bottles go down during play time, whether it be football or ring around the rosie. What a blessing it has been to get to intercede for the park and claim it back for kingdom territory, as one of my teammates says! What a blessing it has been to simply show up and exist with the kids and the moms! What a blessing to be a vessel for the Holy Spirit!

I have been learning so much about Jesus and His heart. He has taught me to love in a new way and has reminded me of His truth. A passage that He has touched my heart with lately is 2 Samuel 22. In this passage, David has been delivered from his enemies and he lifts up a song of praise to the Lord. As I read this chapter, I had two thoughts: one, I resonate with David’s song because it sums up my testimony. In fact, correct me if I am wrong, but I believe every person could say this passage relates to their testimony about what God has done. Two, I realized that I wished the people of Mombasa could say this chapter was true for their lives too. Some people in this city could say they have experienced 2 Samuel 22, but others find the chapter so hard to believe. It is my prayer that Mombasa will one day be able to see the truth of 2 Samuel 22 in their lives. Would you join me in praying this passage over not only the people of Mombasa, but also the people of Kenya and the people of the world?

“David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: ‘The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior———from violent people you save me. I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies. The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears. The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his canopy around him——the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lighting blazed forth. The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed the. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD at the blast of breath from his nostrils. He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me on the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I am not guilty of turning from my God. All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight. To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low. You, LORD, are my lamp; the LORD turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes me feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You make your saving help my shield; your help has made me great. You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way. I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. I crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries before me. You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes. They cried from help, but there was no one to save them——to the LORD, but he did not answer. I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth; I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets. You have delivered me from the attacks of the peoples; you have preserved me as the head of nations. People I did not know now serve me, foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me. They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds. The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted by me God, the Rock, my Savior! He is the God who avenges me, who puts the nations under me, who sets me free from my enemies. You exalted me above me foes, from a violent man you rescued me. Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name. He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”