Nearly seven years ago, pastor Shadrak was called to serve in Mitumba slum to reach those living in abject poverty with the hope and truth of the gospel. He longed to be a light in the darkness, and the darkness did indeed prevail in this small virtually unknown slum. A vast culture of crime, drugs and prostitution pervaded every aspect of the people’s lives. Children, orphaned or too poor to afford school, wandered the streets aimlessly, getting lured into destructive activities. Young men joined gangs and resorted to crime for an income, while mothers stood on the doors of their rusted and leaky tin shacks prostituting themselves to feed hungry mouths at home.
 
“I knew without a shadow of doubt that God had called me to serve in this place of despair” Pastor Shadrak told CMA staff, “and the first thing I decided to do was to set up a bible study for the idle children and youth”. With the meager resources Pastor Shadrak had, he rented a small tin shack with no roof. The children, both curious and eager to help, put together a make-shift roof from plastic bags they found in garbage heaps and sewers at their doorsteps. Their enthusiasm was inspirational but as Pastor Sharack soon discovered, there is always a challenge when we stand up to Satan’s strongholds in people’s lives.

When some members of the community heard of what Pastor Shadrak hoped to do, they began to mock and threaten him “they told me my life would be in danger if I didn’t turn away and never come back” Pastor Shadrak remembered, and then shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, “but I was not too concerned. I knew I served a powerful God and he wanted me to extend his love even to these very people”.
 
Pastor Shadrak had faced many challenges in his years of service among the various slums of Kenya. He had seen extreme poverty, sickness and suffering. Yet in his first meeting with the children and youth, he saw something that shook him to his core and highlighted the extent of their plight.

During one of the meetings, he noticed a young boy in the back doing something quite peculiar…he was eating dirt! When pastor Shadrak asked him why, the boy responded shyly that he was hungry.

“They were so poor” Pastor Shadrak explained, “they were literally eating dirt…handfuls of it, to temporarily numb the pain of hunger pangs”

Today, 270 children in Mitumba are receiving food daily through a feeding program supported by CMA. And not only is their physical need for food being met, so is their new hunger to know God. CMA is also supporting these children and youth to attend Vacation Bible Schools and Youth Camps to learn more about God and His Word.

“They are attending camps for the first time in their lives and many are giving their lives wholeheartedly to Christ” Pastor Shadrak excitedly shared “Not only is their faith being strengthened but they are making a strong positive impact in the community as a whole!”  

YOU can be a part of the amazing things God is doing in Mitumba and other slums in Kenya by helping support our feeding programs and helping us send children to Vacation Bible Schools and Youth Camps to build strong Christian foundations in their lives. This new and hopeful generation will be a powerful tool in extending God’s love to others and transforming their communities from the inside out!