Please Don't Send Me to Africa!

Scott Wesley Brown wrote a song back in the 80's. It was about our willingness to serve the Lord, except in places like Africa. That always stuck with me. This month, I had the opportunity to visit our projects in Egypt, Ethiopia and Kenya. Three other members of the Mission of Mercy Board also joined the trip. Here is a very short summary of the trip:

Egypt
Our trip in Egypt started with our project in one of the garbage cities of Cairo. The people of the community collect and separate garbage - and then sell it. There is garbage everywhere. Kids wade through the garbage from a young age. We have built a six story building for classrooms, a medical clinic and vocational training center. I am deeply appreciative of the level of care the children receive; a good meal, education, medical attention and the message of Christ. No trip to Egypt would be complete without a visit to the pyramids - and they are truly impressive.

Ethiopia
The cornerstone of our ministry in Ethiopia is a Mercy Center in Addis Ababa that serves 2,000 children. It also houses vocational training for the mothers. They sew the uniforms for all the kids, and prepare the meals in the catering center. Prior to going to Ethiopia, we had received an e-mail from a family in North Carolina. They had lost their 24 month old son due to medical complications. They decided they needed to reach out in love to another boy, so they sponsored a child in Ethiopia. I let them know I would greet their sponsor child, Mussie, for them while I was in the country. What a powerful meeting that was! I told Mussie's mother about their sponsor family and she hugged me and cried. It was a moving experience.

Kenya
Mission of Mercy supports a school on the edge of a slum of 300,000 people in Nairobi. The quality of education is excellent. In addition to that work, we visited the New Life Home. New Life Home takes in children abandoned in dumpsters, paper bags, among other places. Fully one-third of the children are HIV positive. It is a joy to be there amidst all of these children - holding them and playing with them. It's a hard place to leave. We also drove into the bush south of Nairobi and visited the Maasai people. We were greeted and honored upon our arrival. These are people living in the most primitive conditions. They thanked us and told us, "before Mission of Mercy, our children were hungry. Now they eat every day."

All of these projects are very diverse, but they do have a common focus - bringing hope to children. That is the bottom line - and that's what made this trip so encouraging. There is nothing better in this world than the smile of a child.