Nikki in Nairobi: International Widow's Day

Last week, 23 June was International Widow’s day. In honor of that special day, we decided to have a market day. A celebration day for every lady in our Kasarani workshop. The day before, I and three other ladies went to purchase all the huge quantity of fruits and vegetables we were to give the J127, J&J and Jimani women. I am pictured on the right, at the produce market where we bought all of the foods. After, we set up the workshop and displayed the produce to prepare for the next day.

On the actual day, we started off the day with our usual devotions in the morning. Everyone could see there was a special day to be had. During worship, you could tell the ladies danced with all they had in praise. Kesia, a powerful yet humble sister in Christ, shared another wonderful Biblical testimony, preaching about the story of Anna in the Bible. A gifted speaker.

Some of the Go Near team joined us after that. They introduced themselves. Jennifer Mooney on the Go Near team, herself a widow and J127 sponsor, shared deeply from her heart and sang a song for us all. After that, each woman was given a bag to fill up with many fruits and vegetables. We also gave each of them a copy of the Jesus Calling book.

The part of the day that gripped my heart the most was hearing the heart wrenching stories of each of these strong impoverished women, orphans, and widows of Kenya. As we drank chai and ate mandazis together, I couldn’t help but feel moved as each person shared their deepest struggles and how they are overcoming them. It was encouraging to hear they have such thankful attitudes, giving God the glory despite any circumstance.

International Widow’s day is a day I will not easily forget. A blessing it was to these widows and women and an even greater blessing to me to be part of the Lord’s great work.