Bittersweet moments

Blog by Jessica on Sunday, July 1, 2012

Where to begin....

My time here thus far has been surreal.  I have met some wonderful people and shared many amazing moments with so many beautiful children; memories that will stay with me for a lifetime.  Our first day at Mbewau (Thursday) was like being in heaven.  It was hard to just exist in the moment because of everything happening around me; I wanted to absorb and digest every second.  The children--their smiles, their laughs, their voices, melted my heart.  They swarmed around me like flies on a lightbulb.  I wanted to look in each one of their eyes and take a mental photograph that I could never forget.  The feeling I had when I held them in my arms is something I cannot begin to describe.  

I first went to music class where I met Immanuel, the music man.  He is full of energy and is great with the children.  During the break between classes, I picked up his guitar and began to play Oh Taste and See.  He grabbed another guitar and started playing along with me.  We played that song together the following day at chapel in front of the whole school!  It was so cool to sing and play guitar and see the faces of all the children gazing back at me.

I later sat in the baby class (3-4 year olds) and OH MY WORD they are the absolute cutest little things you’ve ever seen!!!  I was there during their nap time so it was pretty cute watching them sleep at their desks.

Thursday evening we walked home with Irene, the custodian at the school.  She lives at the top  of this hill and her view of the country was breathtaking.  Irene is a widow and she has 6 beautiful children, my favorite is Maria – such a sweet little girl – contagious laugh and captivating eyes and smile.  On our walk we were stopped by these women who were cooking rice and porridge in their huts – they invited us in where we stayed for a few minutes.

Friday – Morning Glory at 6:45 AM – Praise and worship with some of the school staff members and Immanuel playing guitar.  I spent most of the day in KG1 (4-5 year olds) where I fell in love with Gloria – her eyes are beautifully translucent and she has the sweetest little voice. 

Saturday we walked through the village with Jackson, school principle, and evangelized at four homes.  Most of the people listened but Jackson said if they were just “agreeing”, they were probably Muslim.  We had three women accept Christ and it was absolutely amazing.  Later that day we had a “fun day” for the children and had over 100 children show up!  We had lots of crafts for the kids and played Red Rover and Duck Duck Goose.  We also had an adult volleyball match with several of the male staff members and it was so much fun!  That night Jenny, Elyse, and Kellie went to town and grabbed us some Kenyan made pizza and soda pop!  I have never been so appreciative of Coca Cola ever in my life.  We also were given a live duck (as a gift) from one of the teachers which was killed that night and eaten – it was delicious.  Jackson gave me the African name, Bahati, which means lucky :)  I adore that sweet man.

Today we visited Kafani’s church – it took about 20 minutes to walk there.  We were welcome with many hugs and smiles.  After church they served us Chai and Mendazi where we fellowshipped together.  We got back and had to say our goodbyes – until next Monday.  Bittersweet.  Now we are at the most awesome coffee shop near the apartment!

More to come!  Thanks for reading and coming along on this journey!

Sincerely,

Bahati – Jessica