Pastor Teddy

On my recent trip to Kenya, I was able to attend many of the
ministry sites that AIM partners  with.  One of those sites is a pre-school
that a Kenyan woman named Monica runs. I really enjoyed the time spent
with the children there.  One particular little boy that many of the Real
Life participants had fallen in love with was  – “Teddy”.  He had such energy and a joyous spirit.  Many
of the team members referred to him as “Pastor Teddy”…due to the fact he liked
to talk – a lot!

It was with great
sadness, that I found out today that six year old “Pastor Teddy”  passed away a couple days ago.  One of
our leaders, Traci, writes in her blog about the conditions in Kibera and the
circumstances leading up to Teddy’s death.  Please pray for his parents,
the team, and any others who were touched by Teddy’s life.

Please read the following…

tracivansumeren.theworldrace.org

It’s
hard to describe the poverty in Kibera. From first appearances it looks
terrible, yet still bearable. It’s as though the people here have found a way
to survive in spite of the extremely challenging circumstances they live in. I
have learned that appearances are often deceiving, though. And even if it looks
like they are dealing with their circumstances, many Kenyans here live in a
completely desperate state.

A few days ago there was a fire just a few houses down from where our cook,
Reagan, lives. By the time I talked to him in the early afternoon, he had been
up for hours helping deal with that. He asked if we had some first aid stuff at
the house because he had scraped his foot in a few spots. He had helped a woman
get away from the fire, but had to kick down a tin fence, cutting his foot in
the process. The houses are so close together, and there are no fire-alarms,
extinguishers, or even access by fire trucks, so the people had to work
together to help put out the fire. The main house was completely destroyed and
burnt to the ground. This is what poverty does. It makes a possibly bearable
situation tragically difficult or overpowering.

Last night I got a call from one of the other staff girls here–Connie. She
told me that she had just received a call from Monica and one of the children
from the preschool had passed away. He had gone home Thursday with a bad fever,
and the family was not able to afford to take him to the hospital. My heart
sank. Another child dies at the hands of poverty. I have been to the preschool
only a handful of times, and from that have only learned the names of a few of
the children, so I assumed I wouldn’t know who he was. Even still, I asked the
name so that I could tell the team–maybe they would know him. Connie said that
is was Teddy and I immediately got sick to my stomach.

“Pastor Teddy?” I asked her, hoping she would say no.

 

I
couldn’t believe it. He is this amazing little six-year-old that we have been
calling Pastor Teddy due to his desire to become one when he grows up. He
speaks a fare amount of english and is such a joy to be with. He has, by far,
become the most talked about child at that school. Even the team members that
don’t work at the preschool know about him and love hearing stories, seeing
photos, and even watching short video clips the other team members have
captured. Connie said that even while he was suffering a fever on Thursday, that
he was sitting in her lap singing some of the children’s songs that the team
has used at the preschool. What an exceptional being. What a devastating
reality of life and death in Kibera.

Please be praying for the team as they process through this loss. I’m sure it
will be difficult to minister at the preschool now, knowing he is gone. His
grace is sufficient, though.