Sparking Hope
- Aug 18
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 25
Luke 2:52 – And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Sparks fly from Baba’s hands as if by magic. Young Abidin has been told to cover his eyes, but he can’t help peeking through his fingers. He is captivated. How does Baba never get burned? He must be immortal!
“One day I will wield the light - I’ll be strong too!”
That was fourteen years ago.
Today, Abidin works quickly, yet with meticulous precision, fusing steel bars into lines, lines into squares, squares into rectangles. The electrode rod crackles across the metal, forming a pool of molten steel that binds the joints. With a light touch, he runs the final bead, hot metal flicking off the rod as he finishes.
Stepping back, the welder lifts his goggles and admires his work. What was only a stack of raw materials this morning is now a sturdy door for the Vapor center. Abidin removes his gloves - a luxury his father could never afford. His hands are now strong and capable from years of growth at Vapor Ministries and the technical training institute. He’s only 22 but blessed with training his father never had access to.
“I can’t wait to show Jim,” he thinks. “He’ll be so proud to see this new piece.”
Abidin grew up like many other boys in the Kawangware Slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Though both of his parents hustled to find work, every day was a struggle to provide the basic necessities of shelter, food, and water for themselves and their four children. Medical care was a luxury. Education? Unimaginable. Hard work, however, was a must and something Abidin learned from a young age.
Most days, the eight-year-old followed his father to welding and plumbing jobs and began to learn his father’s trade. On other days, Abidin would flip chapati (fried flatbread) at his mother’s small café where she served staples like ugali (boiled cornmeal cakes), sukuma wiki (sautéed greens), and githeri (curried corn and bean chili).
His father’s jobs came and went. The café also struggled. In the slums, one day of work meant one day of living. But if the work didn’t come, or if the food didn’t sell…
One day, while following his father to a job, several neighborhood boys ran by, dribbling a soccer ball, happily announcing they were heading to play at Vapor. Abidin looked up, wanting to go play too, and with a nod from his dad, he ran to catch up.
Abidin had no way of knowing it, but chasing after that soccer ball would change the course of his life.
At the Vapor center, Abidin began playing soccer in the discipleship league. Although he was not very good at first, his hard work and determination quickly made him one of the team’s strongest players.
But something far more important than soccer was taking root.
Through the daily devotionals and the faithful investment of his coach, Abidin heard the gospel and accepted Christ. What began as a desire to play soccer became an opportunity to know Jesus and discover his God-given worth and purpose. As Abidin grew in his faith, he began boldly sharing the gospel with friends at school and throughout his community.
The little boy who had followed others through the gates of the Vapor center was already learning what it meant to lead others toward Christ.
Through the life-on-life discipleship program, Abidin’s coach learned that the young boy and his three siblings were all unable to attend school (and that their family often went without food) due to serious financial constraints. Moved with compassion, the coach recommended Abidin for Vapor’s child sponsorship program.
On the other side of the world, Jim and Ilse Holderby had seen the reality of poverty firsthand through partnering with Vapor. Jim had gone on a Vapor Trip and looked into the eyes of children very much like Abidin. And while he saw great poverty, he also saw the real potential and the real impact of the gospel.
The couple had been Vapor12 monthly partners and found it a privilege to provide additional support to a specific child in need. And when the Birmingham, Alabama, family saw Abidin’s smiling face in their email inbox, they knew the relationship being built would change this boy’s life.
Jim and Ilse’s ‘yes’ opened doors that Abidin’s hardworking parents simply could not afford to open on their own. The monthly sponsorship covered his school fees, uniform, and classroom supplies. It paid for his medical care when he got sick and provided supplemental food for his family, which proved critical when work was scarce. It also helped support his continued spiritual growth in the discipleship league.
The Holderbys wrote encouraging letters and received handwritten updates and photos in return. The families faithfully prayed for each other, and even though nearly 10,000 miles rested between them, they have grown together over 14 incredible years.
In that time, Abidin’s interest in welding never waned. Upon graduating from high school, the Holderbys' continued support enabled him to study advanced welding and plumbing, even electrical engineering.
Now at 22, Abidin is more than just one of the most sought-after welders in the area; he’s giving back to others. He’s investing his time as a volunteer coach in Vapor’s discipleship league, where he’s leading others not just to soccer and bible quiz victories but also to a Victorious Savior who loves them and knows their worth.
His ambitions go well beyond the soccer field and the Vapor Center walls. Abidin is working toward opening his own welding shop in Kawangware to employ other young people, where he can encourage and train them to build a better future for themselves through hard work, determination, and, most importantly, a lived-out faith in Christ.
Today, as Abidin sets down his welding tools and runs his hand over the clean steel door he crafted for the Vapor center, he is more than a beneficiary of aid. He is a leader, a mentor, a brother in Christ. And nearly 10,000 miles away, Jim and Ilse get to see the fruit of the seeds they planted over the past 14 years.
Abidin’s transformation began when a family saw beyond the poverty of a little boy in Kawangware to his God-given worth.
Right now, another child like eight-year-old Abidin is waiting for an opportunity.
When you sponsor a child through Vapor Ministries, you are providing quality education, nourishing food, essential medical care, and life-changing discipleship. But that’s not all–you are stepping into a story of transformation that will multiply disciples for generations to come.
Be the spark that changes a life.
