If you pulled out a map right now, it’s likely you won’t be able to find it.

Mukuru is often overlooked. It is one of the largest slums in Nairobi, Kenya, but it’s not the largest. Because of this there are barely any government initiatives in place to help the 100,000 residents. The Red Cross has little presence, and the under-resourced population is forced to fend for itself.

This was the neighbourhood where Member of Parliament Musili Mawathe grew up. A good day for him back then was spent running around the slums with his friends, trying to steal some candy, or get his hands on some cigarettes or alcohol.

And he was one of the lucky ones.

Musili attended one of the three schools in his slum. He was good at football—soccer to us—and was close friends with his pastor’s son. That opened the door for him to get noticed. A benefactor offered to pluck him from this community and send him to Dallas, Texas, to receive an advanced education.

He stayed there for 20 years. He learned, and grew, until one day he went back home.

“When I came back [to Mukuru], I didn’t like what I found. So I decided I wanted to do something about it,” Musili said.

He was inspired. Musili dedicated himself to public service.

After being elected as a Member of Parliament, he dedicated himself to transforming his community.

“I talked to a woman, and her daughter had finished the exam to pass 8th grade. Her mother thanked me and said, ‘My daughter is done school, thank you!’ I was happy, but also sad. There is so much more she should be excited for,” he said.

“There isn’t a mindset of valuing education, and we are trying to change that. We need to open the community’s eyes, and the only way to do that is to educate them. And as we do that, we need to teach them Scripture, so they can know the Lord. That’s what’s going to change the community.”

So when he heard about what ShareWord Global was doing in Mukuru, his eyes lit up.

This Western organization wasn’t coming to his home just to drop off Bibles. They weren’t there for a week of missions. They were there to build partnerships with the churches in his community. They were there to equip them and support them—to mobilize them to share the gospel with their neighbours. Musili was ecstatic. He just knew that the Bibles, the new understanding of relational evangelism, and the supporting Scripture resources were going to help change his community and strengthen their relationship with God.

So when a Gospel Outreach team went to Nairobi, he was excited to meet with them. He joined the team a day before they were scheduled to go to his community to thank them and offer his assistance, letting them know they would have the full support and protection of the local police.

“I am looking forward to working with you and partnering with you. Welcome to Kenya! In Kenya, we love you,” he said.

The next day the team went into the streets, met with ten churches, trained 54 believers and shared the gospel with 269 people. In total, 173 people gave their lives to Jesus that day, and God answered the prayer of a politician, that his community would be transformed by the gospel.

Isn’t it amazing to see the impact this ministry is having? To know that the dreams of national leaders like Musili, who yearn for the gospel to radically transform their home communities, are being fulfilled. It’s both humbling and motivating!

Thanks to your dedication, support, faith, and prayers, we're seeing this happen in countries like Cuba and Nicaragua, and now, we get to be a part of God's work in the Mukuru slums of Kenya! So when Musili says he's starting to not even recognize his childhood home because of the gospel's impact, we have reason to hope that it's just the beginning!