We see him nearly every day on our drive into Mathare Valley— a young boy between the ages of 10 and 12, meandering aimlessly down the road, his hand clasping an open, plastic bottle filled with a yellowish-brown liquid. We’ve learned that the liquid in the bottle is glue, homemade and toxic. Countless street boys like this one (too many) sniff from these bottles all day long to receive an instantaneous, temporary high. We also encounter them when we leave Mathare and exit onto one of the busiest thoroughfares in Nairobi. Clusters of street boys standing in the median, streams of traffic on either side, approaching the waiting cars to wash their windows and receive a few coins in exchange, all the while clutching their plastic bottles.

Seeing these kids deeply saddens us. Who is there to take care of them, to tell them that this isn’t the life they should choose? Yet when no other options seem possible, when the painful reality of the present is so consuming that dreams are unimaginable, perhaps this seems like the best alternative—finding a way to escape, to temporarily numb the pain.

We are blessed to work alongside an organization that seeks to end this cycle of despair. Missions of Hope helps kids dream and achieve their dreams through education. Most importantly, MOHI teaches these kids about the One who is worthy of their faith and trust, to place their lives and dreams in the hands of Christ to guide their footsteps.

Two years ago when we visited MOHI on our vision trip, Pastor Wallace Kamau, a founder and director of MOHI, shared with us Ephesians 3:20-21: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever” (Emphasis added). Pastor Kamau commented that this truth is why MOHI does what it does. Many kids in the slum have lost the capacity to dream. They only see what’s before them each day, a fight to simply survive—hunger, darkness, disease, and despair. [Incidentally, not unlike thousands of kids halfway across the world in the inner cities of America.]

The Messiah came to save each of us from these temporary chains of our fallen world. He sacrificed His own life to restore us to the Father so that we can live life abundantly, life in Him as He lives in us. His dreams become our dreams as we walk in step with the Holy Spirit. And those dreams far surpass any that we can dare to ask or imagine. Through His Spirit, the power at work within us, He equips us to achieve those dreams to glorify Him, a holy animation.

We’ve witnessed this holy animation at MOHI. Countless numbers of kids from Mathare Valley, one of the poorest slums in the world, achieving the improbable. Kids who are in college, studying to become surgeons and pilots and teachers. Kids who passed rigorous national exams for admittance into prestigious high schools who now spend their weekends and holidays mentoring younger kids just starting their academic careers. Young girls who are teaching their sisters science, math, and God’s word. Young boys who once spent their days sniffing glue or stealing or marauding with gangs now attending school every day and participating in church every Sunday. Parents who truly believe that their kids can have a different life than they have had, that their dreams are actually attainable, and that they can make their communities and neighborhoods better.

This Easter, as we remember Christ’s sacrifice and celebrate His resurrection and life in us, may we also thank and praise God for being the Author of dreams, the Giver of new life, and the Animator of our souls. May we thank and praise Him that He is authoring amazing stories, imparting hope where despair attempts to reign, and inspiring new generations of Christ-followers to create a legacy of faith, hope, and love in their communities– all around the world and in our own backyards.