In Psalm 23:1 the Bible says, “The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” This popular statement may sound quite familiar and ordinary, owing to its wide usage, but truly when you trust in God, you cannot lack anything, and neither can you fail to achieve the desires of your heart. MCF is a living testimony to this declaration.
We have seen God shepherd us compassionately. Despite the difficult times we have encountered, we have not lacked food for our children or the resources to educate them. Despite the harsh economic conditions in Kenya, we have been able to meet all our financial obligations. This truly manifested God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This has come to pass. Though many children were leading hopeless lives in the streets, while others were orphaned and abandoned, God’s plan was not to destroy them but rather to give them a hope and a future through MCF. I am glad that God chose to use MCF to fulfill one of His greatest promises to humankind.
In my child rescue mission, I have been strongly inspired by God’s words in Genesis 50:19–21, which says, “But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’” Through His Word, I have learned not to be scared or afraid of anything. I have learned to trust in Him because He is a giver and saviour of lives. Through the example of Joseph in these verses, God manifested His love for humankind.
This explains why our success story at MCF has hinged on giving and doing something with all our heart without doubt, hesitation or complaining. It is important that when you do something, you do it with all your heart and with love. We should love others as if our lives depended on it. We should love like we may never love again, and we should always be ready to help and comfort the needy at all times. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry and a bed to the homeless. Be quick to show love to desperate and hurting souls. Be generous with the different things that God has given you. That way, God’s cheerful presence will be evident in you.
This is summed up in 1 Peter 4:9 –11:
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.
Furthermore, the Bible says in Deuteronomy 28:8–12,
The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to…The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.
These are some of the great Bible verses that have guided me since I embarked on helping the needy and vulnerable children in Kenya and across East Africa. Having witnessed the great power of God, I chose to be a man of deep faith. When others were full of worries and on the verge of giving up, I trusted in God to provide for all our needs.
Despite being located in a semi-arid region, MCF is one of the leading agricultural centres in Kenya. God has blessed the work of our hands, and we have been able to grow a lot of food to feed our children, sell some of it for sustainability, and share the rest with the hungry community. We receive hardly any meaningful rainfall throughout the year, the temperatures are usually high, and yet we are able to irrigate our farms to yield a significant produce. We grow maize, tomatoes and French beans among other farm produce for the sustainability of the centre. Our barns are full of harvests, and our children have never lacked food. This is a manifestation of God’s love for His people.
Finally, our anniversary celebration was a testimony of the joy that God has brought to everyone at MCF for 25 years. The Lord has gifted the MCF children with the exceptional blessing of being able to smile and play regardless of all the misfortunes they faced earlier in life. I often listen to the sounds of joy that come from the children at MCF. I hear nothing that mirrors the horrifying past that they endured. Despite being orphaned, abandoned or abused before being rescued by MCF, these children are now some of the happiest people in Kenya. They talk with each other, crack jokes and are full of happiness. The levels of love and interaction are encouraging.
Through our guidance the MCF children have learned to take life as it comes and are only focused on creating a better future for themselves. This is a result of constantly encouraging them to forget the past and walk with Jesus Christ into the future. I often tell them that if they focus on their past misfortunes they will only end up pitying themselves and will eventually miss seeing the good things God has planned for them.
But, as they fix their eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of their faith, they are transformed with a genuine and true radiance. They become the people they were designed to be. And it is the immense joy experienced by my children that has formed the basis of my happiness as I help them rebuild their lives.
Since I embarked on this ministry in 1989 my life has totally changed. I am happier than I used to be. I get more excited, especially when I see a child who was once abandoned in the streets, left for dead, rejected and even abused, but who is now able to run around joyfully, feeling part of a loving family, pursuing education and being able to achieve his or her dreams without limitations or segregation.
Furthermore, I get a lot of joy from seeing MCF children surrender their lives to Christ and embrace His righteousness. This restoration of souls for Christ gives me extreme joy.
Happiness is the greatest blessing that God has given to the children of MCF, and that’s what we endeavour to sustain. The truth of this blessing made a strong impact on me in July 2013 when I listened to a very emotional testimony from a medical doctor who decided to help us.
This doctor came to us with a team of professionals and other volunteers. The team set up a free medical camp in MCF Ndalani to attend various patients, especially those from the community around MCF who were unable to access medical care. This doctor struggled with the realization that he was coming to meet and help needy and suffering children in Africa. He had never been to Africa before. But he had heard of it as a place full of suffering and sadness. And so he had prepared himself to offer both medical and, as a counsellor on family matters, psychosocial services.
The doctor admitted to me that before he boarded the plane to Nairobi, he had in his mind a picture of suffering, crying, sad and very sick people who needed a lot of material and moral support. He came to Kenya thinking that he was going to meet a very dejected and suffering population.
But when he arrived in Ndalani, he was surprised that the so-called needy and suffering children were instead very happy, making a lot of noise while playing with each other in the field and running all over the compound. These children lined up to sing and welcome the Canadian team. And when the children went for devotional services, they sang melodious songs and danced with joy.
The doctor did not meet depressed and miserable faces as he had expected. He was taken aback. He wondered how children with a sad past, no parents, no proper clothing and no shoes were able to be so happy. He even contrasted the MCF scenario with the well-to-do society of the Western world where he said children were given virtually every material thing that they desired in life—good shoes, food, cars, housing, a good education, luxurious holidays—but they were habitually unhappy. He said that as a psychologist and motivational speaker, this scenario had been bothering him for many years.
He revealed to me as we chatted outside the MCF Ndalani Medical Clinic, “I thought I was coming here to help alleviate the suffering of these children and other community members, but I have instead ended up being helped by them. I have realized that happiness has nothing