World Impact Ministries / Peter Youngren

  Not surprisingly, the President recently declared Kenya in a state of national emergency: The situation is so extreme and people are so hard pressed; - in such desperate need, that the officials now call on the rest of the world for help….

Politics, corruption, lack of water and hunger are not part of a healthy cocktail – but these are the perpetrators, the silent killers; famine and drought the visible effects and disease the final hit.
As I travel across the country I see the fields of failed crops, the sun scorched vegetables and the damaged maize. And I am reminded that this represents people’s entire savings and a complete season of hard labor wasted in the efforts to prepare the soil, plant and cultivate the land, only to watch the harvest go to waste due to lack of rain.

Water, so precious a commodity, yet how easily we take it for granted….especially when it runs endlessly from our taps and we never experienced being without…!

For the kids in “The Breakfast Club” (the 30 odd street kids that come to my door for food everyday), water however, isn’t as easily accessible! Days, even weeks pass, between what we would call a bath! So, most of the time, these kids are forced to bathe in the local rivers and streams of Nairobi….or go dirty!
As I return from my trip, I find the kids expecting me; waiting at the gate, asking for food and water. I notice, that several of the kids have an unusual peeling rash all over their faces and bodies and I enquire as to how they got what looks like a third degree burn…..? (!) They explain to me that the peeling started after they bathed in the local river (read: toxic…

The “Breakfast Club”

As a new year approaches we have a tendency to take account; a summery of sorts, - measuring what this past year has brought forth, as well as what our accomplishments have been. Also we set goals and aspirations to what we would like the following year and the future to hold…..

As we go through this life, we like for it to have purpose and meaning, desiring our lives, our goings and doings to make a difference.

The beautiful thing is that you and I are making a difference…. (Although it seemingly appears as the smallest thing,) your participation and your contribution make the biggest difference! Because you enable a significant change in the lives of the kids that everyone has forgotten about. These kids are dirty, barefoot and abandoned, shunned and beaten – but through you they receive the most precious gift of all: The gift of life, acceptance and love. Their lives are changed physically and spiritually - and I want to extend their gratitude to you: You’ve made the “Breakfast Club” possible.

One kid said to me: “When I grow up and become the president, I will remember you and I will help you – cause you helped me.”
Another eight year old boy looked up into my eyes as I sat with him, and he said: You are my angel”!!!

God is touching lives through us, through you and I, bringing hope, life and everlasting change. Thank you for being a part of this with me!

Blessings and wishes for all of Gods best – to you and your family.

Happy New Year!

  Everyday, – it seems it gets increasingly harder to say no to the endless stream of children that approach you for money or food on the streets of Nairobi. They have a hopefulness and an unspoiled innocence in their eyes as they look up into yours….and it breaks your heart as you realize that it is impossible for you to assist them all! That, in reality you are helpless on your own – just like they are….!

  Despite always having a desire to work with street kids – I never really knew how to approach it…? As I came here, I asked God to point the way and make the connections needed. But contrary to my expectations – God literally brought the ministry to me. With what started with the meeting of one single child – I now have 15 kids come to my door every morning. First, I met John; a 10 year old boy. He lives in the Soweto slum area– a couple of miles from our place…! His father died and the family was displaced to the streets due to the mother being unable to pay the rent. Without a husband, a job or a steady income, the small family is doomed to survive, living on the street on what they can find in the garbage piles or receive from begging.  But because John isn’t an orphan; he still has a mother and younger siblings – the last thing anyone wants to do, is to split the family up…..
 
  The situation in Kenya is gruesome! Poverty is rampant, jobs are sparse, food - costs are doubling and creating an inability for most people to afford to buy even the simple, most common foods and the national staples! The…

A trip of a different caliber…

In the past weeks we have been traveling much and have experienced many tribes, cultures and places. All together we have been in more than four different provinces through-out Kenya, all displaying a myriad of rich colorful history and multiple ethnicity; from Kisii to Kikuyu, Masai and Luo tribes.
At one place, a man greeted us with this sentence: “Welcome home” This greeting has continuously been resounding in my spirit - because, it really does feel as if I have come home!
The Gospel has taken us to remote areas where no white man has gone before…we have ventured along paths and trekked places situated in the interior highlands, – 3500 meters above sea level (catch your breath!), - places only passable by foot.

The preaching exposure has been great and varied – for me; a discovery of what it means to be a teacher and an evangelist: preaching to several hundreds of people in the small village squares; - stepping out of my comfort zone, only to find myself thriving on traveling and reaching the deeply remote areas of Africa; preaching the Gospel of peace to those that have not heard….

As I travel, I discover that Kenya is indeed a country of stalk contrasts: Only to be described as an oasis in some parts; lush and green, with an extreme abundance of rain causing the red earth to become a pool of slippery mud. In yet other areas; it is as dry as the brutality of a bleak desert, lacking water for months, even years on end….
In these last few weeks I have walked in mud to my knees, had trucks splash me down while passing me on the roads…I have been soaked to the bone, been covered…

September 08

A Godforsaken place……?

A week has passed by, and we have returned from our first trip. We spent 18 hours on a bus and arrived in Laisamis, in the north eastern territory, home of the Samburu and Rendille tribes. The area is very remote and the lack is tremendous - they have had no water in over a year; all the river beds are dry, the livestock are dying and the vegetation is burnt by the scorching sun. Outbreaks of Malaria and TB are attacking the children, who are defenseless and impoverished by these brutal circumstances. It breaks your heart to witness, yet the beauty and love that shines from these people overwhelms you! In fact everything about this place overwhelms you: Electricity is only found 4 hours drive away – the closest river also… (- imagine what it takes to travel by foot!)

The sun and the heat is tormenting – the drought disabling! Yet the sound of song travels in the wind; distant drumming accompanying children’s voices. The greetings from the locals welcoming you; the embrace and the hunger for the ‘good news’ – and the ignited hope in their eyes as you minister to them.
The beauty of the rugged landscape and the colorful tribal attire, the minimalistic lifestyle and the beauty of these people leaves you breathless and enriched.
The experience of having no means of transportation, no electricity, no cell phones and no water – not knowing the language and being in such a remote place really allows you to rely on God for everything!
It is like nothing remotely close to what you have ever experienced before – it leaves you vulnerable, challenged and stretched! But also full of compassion and love; it exposes what God…