The Illula Bible Baptist Church joined Touch a Life to open its first feeding center in Kenya. Among its members are two orphan brothers, Bruce Kemboi (11 years) and Morgan Kipchirchir (9 years), who have been in the church since it was planted and were among the first children to enjoy the birth of our Touch A Life program. We are sharing their story as one since you will always find them together.

They live in a small two-room house with their other siblings. Their mum, Melab Nasambu, who was their only parent, passed on last year November. We remember her for her prominent role in planting Illula Bible Baptist Church, as she was among the first members to join when Pastor Wilson Maiyo moved to the area. The church faced a lot of conflicts when the owner of the land they were renting evicted them from the room they were using. Melab kindly allowed the church to hold services in the tiny living room of her house. The church held services in her house for a year while Melab raised her nine children as a single mother, but that never derailed her in her walk with Christ. (Eph 2:10)

These photos are of the house where the brothers’ lived and their mother held church services for a year while raising nine children as a single mom. This is the kitchen.

When I introduced the Touch A Life program to the church, Melab was one of the members who received us and worked hard to ensure the food was cooked and served on time. Her children, especially Bruce and Morgan, have been in the church since they were in diapers and have never missed church service. They have been good evangelists to their school and neighborhood friends. They have also pulled their siblings into the church with the help of their mum. The program has brought smiles to their faces despite the many challenges that they go through in life.

They study in a public school called Chepkoilel Primary School, where Bruce is in grade five, and Morgan is in grade three. Their hobbies include football and watching movies. Since their mum died, these two brothers, who are also best friends, live with their older brother Bramwel Wafula (22 years), who has now become their guardian. He works two jobs, one as a cleaner in a shopping mall in Eldoret town and the second as a community health promoter, for which he is often unpaid. He and his wife are expecting a child. Bramwell teaches the children’s Sunday School class and hopes to join our Bible College this year. Still, that plan might have to wait since he is now responsible for caring for his siblings. The other siblings work away from home, and one is preparing for her national exams this year with financial help from the county government, friends, and the church.

Children gathered outside for a lesson at the Illula Bible Baptist Church.

The mother of these two boys and their siblings was their sole provider and worked as a hairdresser and a community health promoter. Still, since her passing, they have faced many challenges, which include:

• Lack of proper love and care. Since their mother passed on and now the change of guardianship, their brother has to work two shifts, so they are mostly left alone.
• Provision of food. After the mother’s burial, the church gave them two bags of maize. However, they still lack many essential needs, which their brother alone cannot provide.
• Morgan lacked a Birth Certificate, which derailed his education, forcing him to repeat classes. Pastor Wilson Maiyo has kindly followed up with the local authorities to resolve that. He is a true shepherd of his flock.
• They were both born HIV+ and are under medication, which is hard to get most of the time.
• According to their tribe’s culture, their mum could not own land. One of their uncles is acquiring possession of it and plans to demolish their house and build one for himself, so they are facing possible eviction. Pray that it doesn’t get to this.

Bruce and Morgan with their older brother, who cares for them.

The TAL program brings children together, and when these children are in the church with others, they don’t think about their problems or the challenges they face; they feel a sense of belonging. It has been three years since our feeding program began in the Illula Bible Baptist church, and we have experienced significant changes in the ministry’s growth. The number of children attending has increased and are now filling two classes. Previously, some would leave services early due to hunger and boredom, but now they have a filling, hot meal to look forward to after service. These children have been an excellent tool for evangelism since some new believers are parents of the children in our Sunday School and TAL program and now attend our services.

We praise the Lord for the kitchen built by Touch a Life. It has been a great blessing. We used to cook outside, and during the rainy season, it was very hard for us to light fires, and the food took longer to cook. Now we cook inside, in our new kitchen. Our foremost prayer request is for a borehole well at the church. Our village people have always had to walk long distances and carry water home for cooking and cleaning, and a well would be a great blessing for the Touch A Life program. Please pray with us about that need.

Postscript: Since writing this article, we have been informed that Pastor Mayio successfully transferred the land into the name of Bramwell as the next of kin. The church and the extended community support them in this case.

The cost of a well is $4,520. It includes drilling the borehole, a water tank, a solar pump, a solar panel to run the pump, and a steel stand for the water tank. Please consider dontaing below.