When the rains fall in western Kenya, it’s often as if the heavens suddenly burst open and dump an ocean of water–all at once. I remember my first experience with Kenyan rains in 2006.  I had come to Kenya from Khartoum, Sudan, where the heat was unrelenting–nighttime temperature in Khartoum might “cool down” to 110 degrees fahrenheit. Needless to say, the heat was stifling, even for this California girl.

Unlike Sudan, Kisumu, Kenya, was hot, but not suffocating. One late afternoon, my travel partners and I ventured to the Nakumatt, the town’s supermarket, after a day of teaching. I was in need of something sweet and was perusing the candy selection when startled by what sounded like a freight train coming down the market aisle straight at me. I jumped.

“What is that?!” I shouted above the din.

“Oh, that’s just the rain.” smiled Pastor David Chuchu.

“The rain???” (I must have looked incredulous).

“It reverberates off the metal roof,” Pastor Chuchu explained.

“Oh,” I squeaked with embarrassment.

Throughout my years in Kenya, I’ve experienced lots of rain storms.They’ve interrupted many a teaching session and there is nothing to do but wait it out–the din on a tin roof simply drowns out my voice. These rains can come and go within minutes. People run for cover, duck under overhangs or into small shacks or whatever else might give temporary shelter. Interestingly, women typically carry an extra layer of protection– plastic shower caps to keep their latest hairdo dry.  I’ve even been a passenger on dirt roads when the rains come with fury. Within minutes, the deluge fills gullies and creeks, spilling over roadways and threatening to swallow up bridges.

Taking shelter from the rains, Nairobi, 2011

Rehema Open Door, the upcoming hospice and palliative care center, sits on the red soil of Homa Bay County in western Kenya. The land is fertile and rich, thanks mostly to the rains which nourish it.  I like to think of Rehema as both a deluge of mercy and a refuge from the floods of suffering caused by chronic or terminal illnesses.

Palliative as in ‘palliative care’, comes from the Latin word, pall, which means to cover or cloak. Just as Christ covers us with His love and mercy, Rehema extends this same Christ-given mercy to cover those in need. Together, we provide this cloak of mercy.

Rural home in western Kenya

You are a deluge of mercy to those suffering in Kenya. You allow us to move forward. And as of today, we’ve been flooded with your gracious generosity.  The metal roof sheets and rain gutters have been delivered! Soon, they will provide rain-proof protection for our first building, the initial phase of our hospice construction project. There are even hopes of Rehema, once covered, hosting a medical team from Texas in April.

Thanks to you all, there is Always Mercy.

Pamela

Visit our YouTube channel to see our latest video on this “Deluge of Mercy”

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