By Juli McGowan Boit | Published: October 29, 2013
October 28, 2013
Building Bridges
“The Living Room serves as a bridge between the brokenness of this world to eternity” – Juli Boit
In the early hours of the morning, we gathered together at the Living Room for our first day of service. We joined the hospice staff and sang songs of worship in Swahili. The hospice staffers represent the great people from the community who have given their lives to serve the needs of their extended “family.” These needs are those of men and women struggling with the pain of cancer attacking their bodies, adults and children who cannot walk from paralysis, and the families in the community hurting for their loved ones. After a good word from the Living Room’s Pastor James, Bishop David prayed and spoke to his staff with words of deep encouragement. This was all part of a morning staff meeting, nothing like any we had sat through in the “real world.” He praised the success of the recent local marathon that raised 1.3 million shillings ($15,000) for medicine and other critical supplies for the hospice. Then he spoke of a bridge, a bridge that is yet to be built. This bridge would connect two sides of this community across a river we could see from the hospice. It would allow for more efficient transport of water, supplies and people coming to the hospice. He called for his community to think big and they seemed eager to stand up to that calling. It was all very humbling.
Like that future bridge, our team too crossed a bridge today. Months ago, as we began to prepare for this trip, we knew that our hearts would be stretched in new ways. We waited with anticipation as we traveled across the country and were greeted with song and dance as we crossed the threshold of the hospice. Yet, today we rolled up our sleeves. We worked in the kitchen and the gardens. We visited the people of the community at their simple yet welcoming homes. We held hands and prayed for healing with the terminally ill. Yet, we are at the beginning of change. A bridge has been created. We look forward to the journey as we serve the people of this community.
CA Team
Wendy "loving on" Chepchumba.
Luke planting sweet potatoes in Living Room's farm with Julius & Joseph.
Ben & Deedie serving the guests their 10 o'clock porridge.
Todd & Reagan working hard in the kitchen.
Gene playing with one of Kimbilio Hospice's precious guests, Chris.
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