Our Plan, God's Purpose

We had a plan for today. It was rather straightforward. We would meet with the Mayor of Nairobi at 10:00 am, visit for a while and then go to the 2.5 acres that will eventually be the site of the Neema Orphan Village. But God had another purpose.

And we had a breakthrough (literally - but we will save that for later).

When we got to the City Hall, the Mayor had been expecting us for an hour. He thought the meeting was at 9. We were told it was 10. He then made us wait for 1 1/2 hours and gave us a courtesy greeting but had to leave for another meeting. He asked us to return at 3:30. We agreed but did not expect much of the new opportunity.

We left for lunch and returned in the midst of an urban traffic nightmare. There were cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, pull carts, and thousands of people everywhere on the street. No crosswalks. No traffic lights. Just survival of the fittest. Our driver Charles is a pro. It was amazing and frightening at the same time. (Much like the thought of rescuing so many orphans.)

After arriving safely and thirty minutes ahead of schedule, we were walking into City Hall and one of the members from Bahati recognized the current Town Clerk. He was supposed to be at the morning meeting but was never told about it by the Mayor's staff. So he met with us for about 20 minutes.

Then two members of the Department of Social Services showed up and listened to our story. They were followed by a City Council member who was also the chair of the Social Services committee with the Council. We also finally met with the Mayor but quickly realized that the value of the day was the other divine appointments that were set for us.

So we had a plan to meet with the Mayor. The Mayor had a plan to ignore us. And God had a purpose that was bigger than both.

Proverbs 16:9 says "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." This was true for us today. And probably will be tomorrow and the next.

So that was our figurative breakthrough. The literal breakthrough occurred when Jim sat on the edge of the Mayor's coffee table and cracked the glass. Maybe it was symbolic and God will crack his heart to find a place for the orphans. In any event, he will have a constant reminder of his visitors from Kansas!

Tomorrow will bring new adventures. We will tour the Mukuru slums and visit the 2.5 acres. From the Mayor's Palour to one of the worst slums in the world in less than 24 hours. That is the extreme gap we are trying to bridge.

Thanks for your encouragement, prayers and support! Be sure to check out the new slideshow of pictures.