In 2010, I went to Kenya with a small mission team from my church. I got to learn a lot, and I became really attached to some of the kids there, specifically one of the kids named Gilbert. He and I would sit up late after finishing his school and talk about anything under the sun, whether it was school, family, country, or Jesus. We became good friends; he was my best friend from Africa, and I his best friend from America. One of the things that astonished me was the willingness to serve that he and all of the kids at the Hope Center have. One morning on that trip, I found him scrubbing my shoes back to their original white color. I learned two things from that moment: 1) Never bring white shoes to Africa. 2) These kids have the humility that parallels Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. My time in Africa during 2010 ended, and it was hard to say goodbye to a friend such as Gilbert, but he and I became pen pals soon after, a relationship we continued for the next three years.
Through this connection, I sought an opportunity to return to Kenya once more. Therefore, this summer, I had that privilege to return to the Hope Center again as an intern. I got to see Gilbert and many of the other kids. Gilbert was now taller than me, but still the same friend I had known. Throughout my five-week stay at the orphanage, he would always refer to me as “My Brother in Christ.” This trip was even more than I could have imagined from my previous visit, but again my time had to end. However, I am holding on to those words, “My Brother in Christ,” as the great hope that I would someday see him and those other kids again in heaven. I believe that Gilbert is a testament to the great work being done in those kids at the Hope Center, and I hope that others get to share in the same privilege that I did by taking the time to personally invest in a trip to Kenya.
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