Community Health Warrior - Kennedy's Story
Kennedy running treating a wound, clinic summer 2014
My mom died when I was 7 and my father died when I was 10. There was no one left in my family to care for me, so I moved from house to house living off the mercy of people in the local villages. When I was 16, I came to live with Mr. Jonamu. That’s when I met Pastor Phiri and started going to church.
After a few years of living with Mr. Jonamu, things began to get very difficult. There were so many children in Jonamu’s family and there wasn’t enough room in the house. I needed to move out. I wanted to get married but I didn’t have a home or any way to support a wife or family. I decided one day to go to Pastor Phiri and tell him about my problems. This was in 2005. Pastor took out his bible and began to read scripture to me. He told me about how Jesus gave his life for me. That day I received Jesus as my Savior. Pastor helped me find a house and paid the first year’s rent.
In 2009, a group of us from the church were praying one day. We felt like God was calling us to begin caring for the sick and dying in their homes. I was the first volunteer!
Now our group has grown into Community Health Evangelism. We teach people in the local villages about community health. We care for the sick and dying. We clean their houses, check on their medications, give baths and do laundry. We help people with AIDS get connected with the district hospital to get the medication they need to stay healthy. We take care of the children at the orphanage, preschool and primary school when they are sick and we care for their wounds so they don’t get infected.
I was lost and Jesus found me. I was an orphan, now I am a son! I was a stranger and I was taken in. Now I have a family, a church and a community who love me and accept me.
What is my piece of the puzzle? A few years ago, we were at a funeral in a distant village from the Grace Center. As we were leaving the funeral I heard strange cries coming from a goat pen near the path. I saw there was a young boy tied up in the pen. My heart burned with justice! It took several days for us to get custody of the boy, but now he is safe with us, living at the Grace Center.
My piece of the puzzle is to fight for the children and the people of my community – for their health and to win them to Jesus!
