Testimonials

In November 2022, my family and I were thrilled to be able to travel to Musese, Kenya. Musese village is where my mother in law lives, and this was the first time I had traveled there in many years.

As I pondered how I could be a blessing to the community, I read about the option of visiting widows and orphans. In my previous visits, I had never spent time in the homes of the neighbors in the community. I told Eric I would love to visit some of the widows, in hopes of bringing them some encouragement, making them feel special, and bringing them a small, special blessing in time for Christmas. 

Our group (including my mother in law, myself, Janna—a friend from our church in the USA, and Rose—a faithful member of Grace Musese Church, and our wonderful drivers—my husband one day, and Simon the next day) dedicated two full days to visiting our soon-to-be new friends

After deliberation, we brought along for each widow a small bag of rice, some tea bags, and sugar, which would be helpful to be able to serve chai when family or friends visited during Christmas. We also brought some money, as well as some small gifts for the widows’ children and grandchildren. 

These visits were humbling, and so rewarding. The first home I visited was definitely much simpler than I expected, with a dirt floor and no furniture that we could see. The grandson of our hostess ran to borrow several plastic chairs for us to sit on. Whether their homes had more or less, wherever we went we were greeted with smiles, open arms, and absolute gratitude. We held hands and prayed together. I can’t describe how full my heart felt. 

Several of my new widow friends insisted on giving me live chickens. My mother in law seemed to read my thoughts, which were that these women had many needs & I came to be a blessing to them, not to take from them. My mother in law whispered to me, “you can’t say no,” and she was right. The women wanted a chance to bless me as well, and I could not take that away from them. So I happily accepted each chicken and carried them out with me!

Toward the end of the first day, I was reviewing the envelopes we had carefully labeled for each of the widows. “This one is for Rose,” I said. Sitting next to me, the young woman, Rose, who had been guiding us all day, said quietly, “it’s me.” So, although we could have just given her the gifts in the car, we drove on the bumpiest of all the roads, that almost seemed impassable, stopped at her house and let her go in first. Then I came, knocked at her door and called out, “Hodi!” as I had in every home, and she answered it and acted surprised to see us. We laughed together, then presented our gifts for her and her two children, held hands and prayed. 

I can only thank God for this ministry, which shows His heart for His people. If I had not had the opportunity to initially visit these ladies in their homes, I don’t believe I would have felt the same passion for reaching out to them. Since our initial visits, Grace Musese Network of Churches has identified widows in all eleven of their congregations. They are receiving some regular support, and there is a vision for equipping them to pursue their own visions of generating some of their own income and being able to minister to others as well.