Kenya: The Connect Group

One of the things our group really enjoyed in Kenya was getting to know The Connect Group, a group ranging from late teens to early twenties who are transitioning out of Thomas Barnardos House Orphanage. This group are in vocational or degree programs, working, both, or just looking for work, which is difficult in a country with sky-high unemployment rates and high government corruption. They no longer live in the orphanage but with roommates or extended family.
The Connect Group is led by Collins, who trained as a computer engineer and leads the group, serves as a house father, and teaching computer glasses at the Jonathan Gloag Academy (the school connected to TBH). Collins is also married with two small children, so he is a very busy man, spending only 2-4pm each day with his family. However, he took the time to really welcome us to Kenya and help us navigate some of the cultural differences.
We first met the group at a barbecue our first Sunday in Nairobi. They hosted the gathering and we had an informal time of food and fellowship. The high point for me was getting to know one young lady in her late teens who was beginning a teaching course that very week. While she was hopeful and excited about the course, she spoke very openly about the difficulties of living in a slum with extended family who see her as a burden after growing up in the orphanage as well as the slim chance of making a life for oneself in Nairobi. She was very grateful for the opportunities she'd been given but also realistic about the difficulties of being a young adult in Nairobi. As she spoke, my heart was truly broken for her and I had no words...
We meet up with The Connect Group again the next weekend, returning to ANU for a Good Friday service and then heading to Lake Naivasha for a camping trip. I got a really nasty cold that weekend and slept through quite a bit of it (Also I've blocked out the rather unpleasant aspects of camping...icky toilets, sleeping on the ground in a tent that wouldn't zip, and sharing 1 kid's bag and 1 adult bag with Rusty...). HOWEVER I really enjoyed getting to know some of the Connect kids better and also just watching their obvious enjoyment of fellowship together after leaving home and trying to make their way in the world. We ended the campout with a 3 hour walking safari, during which we learned a lot about the local wildlife and saw quite a few animals you hope and expect to see in Africa.
Finally, some of Connect group met us for Easter service at Nairobi Chapel. It was hard to part ways, leaving some of them in what seem like impossibly bleak situations. And yet I was reminded during that time of worship that we are all a part of the Body of Christ, and even though we serve Him in very different places under very different circumstances, we are indeed His children, serving a common goal and purpose until God has restored His creation.