“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

Home Is…

Part 1

My husband and I came to the construction site of Kimbilio Care Center in Eldoret today. My office is a chair with my computer on my lap, inside the chapel. I look around and see beautifully, bright colored stained glass windows speaking these words to me: Peace. Amani. Hope. Jumaini. Faith. Imani. Love. Upendo. And a bright, red-colored cross reminding me of why we embarked on this overwhelming, so much more than ourselves, journey: To create a community of compassion that honors life and offers hope.

“My last hope,” are the words 24-year-old, Richard, shared with me yesterday when I asked him how he ended up bringing his younger sister, Mercy, to Kimbilio Hospice. “It was a chain of God’s help,” he said. As I listened to Richard share about his journey with Mercy, it was another moment in which God reminded me why Living Room’s Kimbilio Hospice exists.

Mercy (18 years old) unexpectedly passed away in her sleep at Kimbilio the day before. She had been our guest for three months. Born with Down syndrome, misdiagnosed at five years of age with Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD). Earlier this year, doctors discovered that Mercy had been living with a hole in her heart. She was in congestive cardiac failure and secondary to that, she had multiple organ failure. The doctors were surprised that Mercy had lived this long.

Listening to Richard, one would imagine that he was a wise old man. But he is only 24 years old. And it is nothing short of a miracle along with his hard work and determination that he graduated from University in November, 2017. Richard is the fourth-born of seven children. Mercy was the sixth-born. Richard says his mother was very loving, kind and hard working. Through her job as an elementary school teacher and her side job of rearing 140 goats, she educated her children as their father struggled with alcohol. His loving mother also took great care of Mercy since her birth, including faithfully taking her for monthly check-ups for what they thought was RHD.

Their lives became very difficult in 2012 when their mother was tragically killed. Her death greatly affected the family. Richard was in his last year of high school at the time. He recalls the last time he saw his mother. “It was academic day at our school and she came to see how I was doing. I had an average grade of C+ and she encouraged me to ‘pull up my socks’ (a common Kenyan phrase that people use to encourage one another). After her death, I was determined to make my mother proud. I got a B+ on the Kenya National exam for high schools, the highest grade in my school; and I received a partial government scholarship to attend University.”

“Father, may our homes be a community of compassion that honors life and offers hope. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

We will continue this story in Part 2 tomorrow.