Sweet Saturday

Covering Saturday June 21st, 2008

Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

Who had the genius idea of bringing bubbles to Kenya? I don't know but I do know that I volunteered to play with bubbles during our block party. On our last day in Butula, we made a fun carnival like place for the children so they could play games and learn more about Christ and also have a way to have their parents meet the people they've been talking about and see who is giving them all the crafts. We had a ring toss, balloon animals, our own version of bowling, a face painting station, a fish game with magnets, and bubbles-- there was more.

Unfortunately, we never had a strong bubble solution. We wanted to make our own because the liquid would be extra weight that was unnecessary at the airport. Our solution didn't make bubbles; it was too soapy. I used some of the solution that was in a few of the wrapped bubble wands. It was enough to keep the children entertained for a couple of hours. The bubbles that could be made from that were huge-- I'll try not to stay on this topic too long because I'm sure some of you don't want to spend that much time reading about bubbles. There's probably two reasons why: one you would rather play with bubbles yourself and secondly reading about bubbles isn't exactly the greatest scholastic piece of literature. But it is not like I was attempting to write the greatest piece of scholastic literature when writing this journal.

To be honest, it wasn't what I had expected. It was kind of awkward at first because the kids would just stare at you while you waved bubbles. This was truly the job for me; it fits my personality in so many ways. The kids would attack the bubbles and clap for more. At the beginning they loved it but I think a few of them caught on that I was desperately trying to stretch what little we had. It was sticky. It was pretty when there was a ton of bubbles in the sky but kids are more interested in popping them than being in awe of all their colors. Some of the kids tried to use the wands that we had in the soapy detergent solution but it didn't do much. I gave out the wands that had solution to a few of the kids and they enjoyed those but of course the kids were competitive about who had them.

When those bubbles were out I was in a sticky situation. I was the only station that was finished and there was still plenty of time. But I had a consistent crowd and the kids were entertaining me. Eventually, it was just the place to play and not have to stand in a line. A few of the boys asked me to do tricks like their somersaults but I told them I couldn't. Instead it turned into a show of human tricks where they would do a trick and then I would. Surprisingly, I was more flexible than them and by putting my foot behind my head they were fairly impressed.

I was surprised they couldn't do some of the silly things I had been doing since I was a kid. One of the school teachers, I think the one who grilled us with questions in the 5th, 6th, and 7th grade combined, tried to help me with one of the tricks and he demonstrated it. I just sat on the ground, not intentionally I just couldn't hold my weight on my ankles. Somehow the solution in the bucket that wasn't being used was being thrown around by the kids with the bubbles. So, in my warped sense of humor I began taking a full handful of bubbles and water and ran around in a circle acting like I was going to throw it at the kids. Most of them just laughed at me. I, for the most part, ended up with the whole batch of solution on me. Even though it was just soap and water, I imagine it was a good thing I was the one covered in it. Anytime I would step back the kids would get closer to me. Then I would run after them with the bubbly solution. My team members thought I looked insane but the kids seemed to have enjoyed it. They had thrown bubble wands here and there and showed their disinterest and for most of the day I was entertaining them with jokes and silly human tricks.

Later, once we started closing all the stations down and gave out more candy-- which had an instant reaction in the kids blood sugar-- we had our last and final assembly of the whole trip. There were plenty of parents that had come to their children's school to see what had been happening. The whole day reminded me of elementary school. The teachers were also there to support their children and to cheer them in all the myriads of events. Also, there was a guy going around taking pictures for everybody and also if a child, or if parents or even teachers, wanted a picture with one of us he took one.

Someone from the team said that basically if you were a girl or if you had blonde hair they wanted a picture otherwise they didn't seem to care. I didn't mind although it was weird when someone would just hand me a child and ask for a picture-- there was no choice at all. My favorite was when I was with April and they made each of us hold a child and then after the picture we switched the kids we were holding and took another picture. I took pictures with whole families and with each child of the family. They would ask me to hold their child or hold their hand and it was a bit intense I must admit.

But things started cooling down as we came closer to assembly time. We had a sack race where a child and their parent had to race to the finish. At this point, I noticed that beyond the fence there were children who were not from the school that were watching. I felt a little sad that they could not be apart of it; I think it was just because they didn't go to the school. Then again, if they had been at the school I'm not sure anyone would have noticed. It was interesting that they stayed to watch us for so long. One of the girls ended up going to them and giving them candy.

For the assembly we we thanked everyone for letting us be there and Sevo introduced all of us. We had loved being with the children and we wanted them to know how special they all were. Some of the children who had performed in the music festival-- we ended up paying for their bus with our extra donations so that they could compete-- they did a short play for us. Then the younger kids came and sang-- we ended up singing with them.

We also sang a couple of popular Christian songs and then had a skit with a final message. We reenacted the story of when Jesus was preaching and the children came racing to him but the disciples pushed them away. We acted as the disciples and parents that brought children to Jesus. The children instantly flocked to us and helped us with our story.

Sevo made it clear to them who Jesus was and how much he valued everyone. He asked everyone to close their eyes for prayer and that if anyone wanted to know Jesus they should raise their hand. I of course had to peak and I saw a little boy shyly rise his hand in front of me. As for anyone else, I have no idea but it's definite we gave these children a new understanding about Christ and we had also conquered prejudices. We gave out juice and cookies to all the children and a few more pictures were taken.

After we had finished and families, children, teachers, and the like were making their way home I made an effort to get to where our welcome greeters had sat and wished everyone goodbye. Some of the older students tried to teach me some Swahili to sing and they danced with me and the music that was playing over the stereo system. They told me they were thankful that we had come and they wished we weren't leaving. They told me things seemed different while we were there and they felt change. They begged for us to stay but I told them we had to leave, for at least a little while. They said I had to come back and they had no doubts in their faces. It was as if I had no choice and was supposed to come back.

I high fived people as they left and also shook many hands. Many of the parents told me how thankful they were and also they were glad to see their children with lifted spirits. But the last person was the most memorable. The boy who I had been playing with the whole week was trying to hide. He was running around people and smiling heavily. I chased the kid and rubbed his head; I even carried him around and swung him in a circle. He was sad that we were leaving; it was written all over his face but yet he smiled proudly. I told him he had to keep being amazing for me and to watch the younger kids. He waved as he walked away. Mami had seen the whole moment. She asked me if I had known that he was an orphan. I didn't. I wanted to run after him so I could take him home. She told me that even though he didn't have parents that the community had been kind to him. He often stayed with a certain family and he was able to go to school. I have no idea how he became an orphan, whether his parents just could not raise him or if they had passed away-- yet I always saw him smiling and helping others. He stood out to me the entire week. He had a certain presence that was captivating.

Just now I was listening to the song "Adia." The original meaning behind it is about friends who have gone separate ways and is an apology for leaving, but there is a promise of healing from that pain. Sarah McLachlan gave little insight about the song and stated that she was merely looking for a name in the song. What's so peculiar to me is that the name "Adia" is a Swahili name that means being a gift. That boy was a gift to me and I hope that with my life I can write about him so that not only I will remember him but so will others.

(He's the boy in the front on the left side)

Matthew 19:13-15
Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Learning to Be Like Mary

Covering Thursday June 19th, 2008

Acts 1:14
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Another nightmare. This time I woke up and was just annoyed. I normally don't have nightmares and three in a row is just fowl play. This time I dreamed that someone was trying to reach through the window. I felt something cold on my leg. I woke up and looked at my leg and could have sworn I saw the net move, probably my leg. But what was strange this night was April. She was snoring in the most peculiar way that I had ever heard. It was like she was snoring but all the noise was liquid. I've never been too great about sleeping in the same room as someone who snores. My oldest brother is worse-- he starts to figure out what the tempo is to the snoring. I do find it hard to sleep when things that are too rhythmic.

I decided to wake her up considering this was abnormal behavior for her and she went back to sleep rather calmly, without strange noises. I ended up turning on my flashlight and then going to sleep for the rest of the night. The mosquito nets were thick enough that it wouldn't interfere with anyone else and my flashlight was dim. I figured if anything else was going to happen at least the next time I would have light that I could shine.

Our next morning was similar-- breakfast, shower, assembly, play with kids. I had the craft again, which I thought was cool but I wanted to do something else after realizing that it's hard to be close with the children during the craft session. Kristina and I barely made it through one classroom when she had to leave. I figured someone needed her for a few minutes. I ended up, along with the second grade teacher, tying several strips together to make as many bracelets as I could. I became worried as the minutes passed that maybe something worse had happened than what I had initially thought. Apparently, Chrissy had passed out while playing games with the kids. She had scrapped up her hand pretty bad during the fall and it was decided that it would be better for her to be inside so that she doesn't fall again. I switched places with her and ended up playing the games with the youngest groups with Jordan.

It was time to switch classes when I had come outside; the pre-K unit was ready to play. Jordan was excited about how well the previous class had played the games and expected that these kids would follow just the same. He gave them directions about a game and then they all charged off in one direction beyond the school. All the adults just stared at them as they raced. I couldn't help but laugh because I had no idea what those kids were doing. They heard a direction and immediately obeyed. Eventually, we got them all together and had the unusual experience of teaching kids who at this point understood little of English because of their age and because they probably knew Swahili better. We tried to teach them the hokey pokey but instead it turned into Father Abraham. They also enjoyed hopping around in circles. These kids were hilarious. You couldn't say three words without them taking off with it and exploding with all kinds of rambunctious energy.

Then the classes switched again and we had the first graders that I had awkwardly tried to stretch time with during the Mary craft. The first graders were not near as hilarious as the pre-K unit but there was one point where I was being chased by nearly 20 children during a game of tag. They were better about the games but still confused which was something I enjoyed. Jordan tried to teach them this game where he called out a certain number that each child had been designated and the child whose number was called would compete with all the others who were called to see who could bring the soccer ball back to their team but instead anyone would run to the ball-- and the girls who I helped seemed as if they were having a sugar high. For some strange reason, this group was mesmerized by my sunglasses-- I had another pair besides the one I gave away in Mathare-- and a few of them petted my hair.

I think these kids were beginning to like our team. The children were becoming a lot more expressive and learning that they could get away with doing that with us. I forgot to mention this in yesterday's post, but the boy who helped me figure out the other boy's name, I sat with him in his third grade class to help him make a crown-- it wasn't that the process was hard I just found that this kid was something special so I wanted to keep my eye on him. All of these kids were amazing and I don't think I got to have as much personal time with them as I did with the children from Mathare but nonetheless they were wonders to watch.

(The pictures above tell how badly I'm mixing days.)

After playing with the kids and all the hilarity that ensued, it was tea time. At our meeting, Jordan thanked me and everyone clapped for me being so willing to change places, and I was bit taken back. I thought it was nice that my team patted me on the back but I couldn't help but think of the opposite scenario-- what basket case would have been too skittish to switch places with Chrissy? Chrissy had the wonderful assistance of Sevo taking out pebbles and dirt from her hand. It was painful to watch; clearly it was more painful for her.

Later the guys were working on construction while the girls were supposed to do laundry. I was trying to nap again. Somehow I was caught between moving blankets from the meeting room to the girls' place and everyone looked at me like I was pure evil. "What?" For some reason I thought the laundry process was optional-- honest mistake. I didn't have any laundry that needed to be cleaned-- I did but it wasn't necessary. I ended up doing other people's laundry which is kind of gross, personally. I was the butt of a lot of jokes for my stunt in trying to sleep. It wasn't that I was addicted to sleeping during this trip it's just the amount of hours and the scheduling had completely thrown me off. I imagine if I were to go back on any other mission trip like this I would do a better job of finding energy. The worst part was actually when we were going back to the States. I couldn't sleep on the plane that was headed for France and so I nearly passed out while everyone was getting food. I thought for sure I was getting sick.

Anyway, the laundry was entertaining and it was obvious that we as girls were connecting more but the sad part is we only had a few days left and we would eventually be going back home to whatever our regular life may be. That was painful. It was hard to adjust once getting home because certain things about life in America suddenly stuck out like a fall in Olympic gymnastics. It was hard to go from being completely immersed in Christ, basically having your life on the line, to going back to America and not necessarily feeling like that. It makes you want to go back into the field and have more commitments to such missionary work. We touched so many lives and it was fantastic but to be back home was overwhelming. I still have a hard time when people ask me about Kenya because I don't know where to begin. I'm behind in putting everything together from this trip.

For those that had laundry done, it was hand washed in our creative assembly line of basins. I was given the job to twist out the water: I was terrible at this. The clothes were dried on a clothes line. You know, I know I'm combining days from Butula. It's very hard not to do this.

After the laundry was done, some of the girls wanted to go take pictures of the kids. At first, I didn't want to see them. It was unbearable to be so attached to them and all the joy they spread. I loved them so much and sometimes it hurt. I eventually took my camera-- eventually means after about 5 minutes-- and headed towards the school part of the compound. Before I reached there Mami stopped me.

She asked me to go sit on her lap. I was not expecting that but I figured there was nothing wrong with it. Without hesitation I did so and she told me how sweet I was and how pretty I was and how kind. I was touched but also confused because I didn't think she had been around me enough to even know who I was at all and she didn't remember my name so this was all compelling.

Previously in the day, we went over to Mami-- the whole team-- and we prayed over her. We asked that God would heal her leg and we prayed for the school and just everything possible. I remember having a strong feeling about this prayer because of all the things I had already seen and how the power of prayer was growing in our team. After a few minutes when the rest of us had gone to the meeting room, Mami came over and danced for joy that she could walk again. It was a miracle to see. It was just a flat out miracle. Sevo warned us to not get ahead of ourselves and what we had just seen. That she would still need to go to the doctor to get her leg checked out and she may still need surgery. But regardless, the response she gave was a powerful testimony because one way or another she was jumping for joy because in someway she felt like God had reached down and touched her and she had the most authentic smile on her face. After this experience and the day before when she talked with all of us girls about life, I had become attached to her.

So when she complimented me and it didn't make since to me I didn't question it either because I knew she was being authentic; she may have had some motives but she was definitely authentic. She asked me various questions about life and asked if I would stay there with her on the compound. I was shocked. I said I would try to come back and visit but I don't think I could stay. She didn't like that and would keep saying I should stay. Then she asked me about my mom-- which was unexpected to me as an American. I had learned in Kenya that certain questions that may have seemed imposing in America were fairly natural in Kenya and they weren't that imposing. She wanted to know how many sisters I had and brothers. I told her I had two brothers. And she asked again how many sisters I had, and I said none. And she looked at me very funny like she could pry into my head and know exactly what I was feeling.

Then she asked if I was the youngest, and I said yes. She moaned and I was so confused. She said I couldn't be taken away from my mom and that my mom was lucky because otherwise... well anyway, and she said that would make my mom too sad and that just wasn't right and that I should love my mom and watch over her. I seriously felt like she had somehow reached my mom and talked to her; I felt like she had known my mom her whole life. It was mystifying in a way; I could tell this woman had such depth and insight, or was extremely talented in making me believe so. Her eyes literally sparkled. Whatever she had been doing to get close to God definitely worked.

She then started talking about her sons and was trying to match me up with one. I was somewhat amused because I'm frankly amused when anyone tries to set me up so I had to think of a way to casually walk away from this moment which ended up being me saying that I knew a girl on the team who might be interested in such a deal. I sent her April, who had no idea what was happening.

I then went over to the school and took some of the best pictures I have ever taken. They show-- the truth. That's what they are. They show the truth of how these kids feel in Kenya. The children were so beautiful to begin with but with a camera there was something special that they did that most normal children don't. They didn't care what they looked like or if the picture was perfect or who looked the best they just thought it was cool that I was taking their picture. They looked so authentic and beautiful, and what's best is they were filled with joy. These children who had just undergone one of the worst situations in 2008 were completely free and incandescent. It was touching and powerful. When I got home and looked at these pictures I was so shocked. I couldn't believe my camera had such a thing on them, nor did I know that it could take pictures that well. I was amazed; I still am amazed.


I went back to April and Mami and couldn't help but smile because I knew what I had done. April looked a bit flabbergasted and was trying hard not to say the wrong words because it was easy to accidentally say that you were going to marry into the family, which isn't a problem at all but you still have to be careful. I got lost in the conversation as well and nearly ended up getting set up on a double date alongside April. It was all in good fun-- maybe.

We had another bonfire and discussed more of what we were feeling and so forth. We also tried star tripping again. I can't remember on Friday if we had a bonfire or not. It seemed as though these days were similar and they all flowed together. In a way, I'm thankful for that. I'm also sad that I can't tell them apart as easily as the week in Nairobi-- with the exception of certain highlights like the lesson.



Luke 2:19
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.