Depair to Hope
A poem by Jim Shimer. He wrote it on his way home from working in Mathare with the Westlink team:
As an act of obedience, to Mathare we came
And now our lives will never be the same.
For we witnessed a rescue that was epic in scope,
As we watched God move people from depair into hope.
It’s hard to imagine a place more full of depair.
One may exist, but I sure don’t know where.
The surroundings are filthy, the homes are all dark.
You’d never go there on a whim or a lark.
With walls of mud and roofs of rusty tin,
It seems like everything but light can get in.
If ever you hear me gripe, complain or grouse,
Remind me my closet’s as big as their house.
The sun beats down hot and there’s seldom a breeze,
And the use of flying toilets spreads their disease.
With no sewer and few toilets, it smells like a sty,
Cause people put waste in a bag and then let it fly.
This is the setting in which we saw God’s might,
As we shared the gospel and gave out the light.
We opened a window in the roof and in came the sun,
And some of the people opened their hearts to God’s Son.
This is the devil’s territory and it’s caught in his grip,
But with power from the Lord, some gave him the slip.
Now there is hope where once was despair,
As some have discovered that God really does care.
By Jim Shimer