Friday Kenya Memory: July 8, 2009
We headed through the worst of the slums on our way to the school. There were so many unschooled, unsponsored children out on the streets, watching us. These are children who need an education, a future. It truly breaks my heart.
The students were all waiting and cheering with excitement again when we arrived. Everywhere I go, the children call, "Lavin, Lavin," because they know I am Lavin's sponsor.
When Lavin saw me this morning, her face lit up and she ran to embrace me. I gave her a Bible that I brought from home, and the school leaders were so excited for her that they had us pose for a picture. Lavin is the sweetest, most beautiful and intelligent little girl I have ever met. She is so grateful and humble and precious. I love her so much.
Barbie and I set up our things and created a little picture studio. Barbie had the names and ID numbers of the children, and I would photograph each child so we could send updated pictures to their sponsors in America. The children were often too shy to smile, so I would say, "cheka, cheka," which translates into "laugh, laugh," until they smiled and burst into giggles at my funny accent.
We picked four girls to help us find the children throughout the school: Rose (Rosie), Dorine (Dory), Judith (Moja, which is Swahili for one), and Judith (Mbili, which is Swahili for two). I nicknamed each of them, much to their delight.
The girls were so helpful. The sun was very hot and bright, so they fetched a bamboo mat and held it over my head to give me shade! When I protested, they would say, "We do not want your white skin to turn red." It was true. Under the hot equatorial sun, I was beginning to grow a sunburn. What sweet, servant-hearted, Christlike girls. They also brought chairs and tables so we could work with ease.
At the end of the day, I gave each of our helpers a bracelet and Barbie gave them gum. We told them that mzungus love gum, which finally convinced them to try it.
We had children write letters to their sponsors. A few even drew pictures. It was a lot of fun to give them ideas of what to write. They worked so hard, wanting their letters to be perfect.
Barbie and I passed out letters from the children's sponsors. I got to see Lavin open two letters from me! The many, many children who didn't get letters swarmed around the ones who did, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over each letter. Sponsors need to write more often to these precious children. They treasure every word. They read the letters over and over again. They mean so much to them.
Dory stood up after a while and told the story of a poor man whose humbleness and skills in farming gave hope to everyone in his community, even the foolish rich, proving that you cannot judge a book by its cover. Dory is very articulate, an exceptional storyteller.
The children all surrounded me during a break time, chanting, "Sing! Sing!"
"Sing what?" I asked.
"Anything. Teach us any song," they eagerly replied. So we began to sing. I taught them a song that Dory and Rose helped me write a verse in Swahili to add onto it. It goes like this:
Jesus loves me. Jesus loves you. (4x)
Hallelujah, ha-ha-ha, Jesus loves me.
Hallelujah, ha-ha-ha, Jesus loves you. (2x)
Yesu ni Bwana. Yesu ni Bwana. (4x)
Hallelujah, ha-ha-ha, Yesu ni Bwana. (4x)
Yesu ni Bwana is Swahili for "Jesus is Lord." The children love to sing and tell stories. They are all so very smart and joyful.
Three years ago: Almost There
Two years ago: Why I chose not to date.
That is awesome!!!
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