Many of you may not be aware, that here in Kenya, there is a great concentration of people that have been Internal Displaced due the post-election violence in December of 2007. I was not here at the time, but I have heard countless stories from those that were and what a horrible situation it was. One of the results of the election violence was that many people were fleeing their homes because of the tribal fighting and unrest that was going on. Most of these people were put up in UNICEF and Red Cross camps in different areas of Kenya. As time went on the people in the camps asked the government to help them. Eventually, the government came through and gave each family a small sum to start their lives over. We are not talking about a lot of money here, not even enough to buy a new plot of land to start over. Many of the people that were displaced decided to get together and purchase a plot of land using their pooled moneys and that is how the IDP camps were started below us in the Rift Valley. When we originally arrived here in Kenya, there was only a very small IDP camp in the valley, but now there are many more camps starting to pop up.
That brings me to the point of this story. I had the opportunity during Outreach Day here at RVA to go down to the IDP camps and pass out water bottles, play games, face paint, and just be a blessing to the people that live there. What I didn’t expect was to come back with such a blessing from an unknown person. That person’s name was Benson.
As you can see in the picture above, Benson is in the middle of a group of kids with a huge grin on his face despite everything he has gone through. I had the opportunity to talk to Benson after this picture was taken and he told me that he lived up near Nakuru where some of the more intense fighting had taken place. He had to flee for his life because he was afraid that if he stayed, he would surely die. He is now living in the IDP camps awaiting his papers so that he can go get a job. Benson told me that right before the fighting broke out he had just graduated from secondary school (High School), which is a huge accomplishment for most people were he comes from. He was waiting to get his papers stating this fact when he was forced to leave because of the fighting. He has now been waiting for almost 1 year and still can not prove he graduated, thus making it harder for him to get a job and to start a life of his own. I asked him, what he was going to do, and he said that he hoped to get the papers sometime this month so that he could move closer to Nairobi and find himself a respectable job and not have to live in the IDP camps anymore. As I was leaving and thanked him for his kindness and willingness to talk, he said something to me that I will never forget. He said, “No matter what happens in life, no matter how much crap you go through, God will always pull you out if you are willing to follow His leading and direction for your life.”. I just stood their speechless and thanked him for his time and promised him that I would be praying for him and if possible try to visit again before too long.
During the ride back up to Kijabe, I contemplated about everything that I had just listened to and thought a lot about this man and all that he has been through, and to say something like that. It brought on a whole new meaning to me about being thankful for what you have in this world and what God gives you. I have made a resolution, that I will be praying for Benson and all the people in the IDP camps every day this month and to do anything I can to help them. My heart reaches out to them and I know that as time goes by, these people can get back on their feet as long as they look to God.
- RM -
The Munson Family
