First off, I apologize. It has been more than a month since my last post, which is way too long to keep everyone waiting; hopefully most of you have stuck it out and waited. Honestly, I haven’t had much time in the past few weeks to get online and type out my thoughts. Now, we are all back in Nairobi for a few days before we head to the beach in Mombasa for a week of relaxation and fun. I am really looking forward to sticking my feet in the sand, setting up my hammock in the shade, and listening to the waves crash on the shore. But, the trip is also bittersweet, because it marks the end of our time at Tumaini, and I am going to miss that place dearly. responsible
- “Cell group Bible Studies”: We set up little cell group bible studies for the kids. Each Monday and Wednesday, all four of us would meet with the 10 selected group leaders (some of the older kids, 5 boys and 5 girls) and we went through a bible study with them. Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the leaders would all break into their respective groups in the evening and lead the same bible study while we walked around and answered any questions they had. I can’t tell you what a blessing this has been to watch. During our group time with the leaders, it seemed as if we weren’t getting much participation or that not much of an impact was being made. But, watching them lead has been amazing; you can visibly see God at work. These kids take on responsibility with such ease and grace. It was like we had 10 different preachers, each unique in their own style. They led songs in their groups and even asked difficult questions that were on the bible study sheet. On top of that, they looked forward to each new meeting (yelling “GROUPS!” at the top of their lungs when it was time to meet). God has really used the time to help them grow and help us grow as we watch them pour over his Word each night, and they are going to continue the groups after we leave.
- “Me, I fear chameleons”: Alright, well the boys’ caretaker Lawrence is extremely scared of frogs. Adam and I discovered this while we were outside one evening trying to catch a frog, and Lawrence asked what we were doing. Upon finding out, he immediately said “I need to excuse myself,” and he ran up the stairs. I told Adam that I was going to toy with him if we ever actually caught the frog. After about 10 minutes of attempts, we finally caught the slippery thing. I ran upstairs with the frog in hand and met Lawrence in the hallway. He wasn’t sure what was in my hand at the time because it was dark. But, once he saw the frog he dropped his bucket of water and screeched all the way down the hallway as I chased him, and he locked himself in the bathroom. After he pleaded with me, he came out and I joked that I put it in his bed, “You can’t be serious!” he replied. I told him I was kidding and he laughed, but told me how afraid he was. A few days later, we were all eating dinner together and we were giving Lawrence a hard time about the frogs. Willfred, an older man that lives behind us at the orphanage, was listening to us talking. He waited until it was quiet and said, “Me, I don’t fear frogs. I fear chameleons.” We all burst into laughter as Willfred kept a completely serious face.
- “Random thoughts”: I wrote this in my journal one day while I was having a bit of a tough time. I thought I would share it with everyone. God will see me through the mess. There’s beauty in the mess, because we are all a mess, but God sees each of us as beautiful new creations. And, each of those creations made up the broken people. Our broken lives piece together to form a beautiful stained glass window, mosaic known as the Church, where each part is essential to display the window’s beauty as the light (Christ) shines through and decorates the world. May we continue to add more and more colors and patterns to his ever-growing patchwork of ragamuffins and broken people that meld together into a beautiful mess.
- "Lake Nakuru National Park": Wow! This trip was amazing. We went for the day to Lake Nakuru's National Park, and toured around with our tour guide (David the social worker at Tumaini). It started with all of us feeding monkeys out of our hands. Some literally jumped in our laps to eat our snacks haha. Then we saw tons of amazing animals along the way: giraffes, flamingos, baboons, hyenas, waterbuck, buffalo, zebras, and rhinos (even the elusive mizunguu haha). No simba (lion) unfortunately, but still well worth it. It started an itch to see exotic animals in the wild that only a safari can scratch. And, we all have tons of pictures and videos to document.
- “Gitaa teacher”: I have officially become the guitar teacher to several of the kids, and even the caretaker Lawrence. In no way am I qualified or talented enough to teach them, but I have taught them a little of the basics and what I know. It has been so much to sit down with each of them and see the huge smile on their face while they strum each string. They are happy and content to just play and sing without knowing any chords. There are a few kids who have really shown some progress and talent. Some of them have even gotten a few chords down and can play a song. Others are satisified with taking my guitar and sitting with the kids to sing while they strum. It has been a lot of fun, and I wish I had a guitar to leave so they can practice.
It has been so much tougher to leave Tumaini then I ever imagined. I never thought that this idyllic, rustic town would have grown on my so much. But, I now love the muddy, dirt roads with the scattered cows, sheep, and donkeys throughout. I will miss seeing friendly faces everywhere and meeting new people. I will miss the long walk to church and the short walk to the “duka” (shop) for innumerable Fanta’s. Most of all, I will miss Tumaini. The kids and adults there have become a family to me. Each kid is a brother and sister, and each adult a parent. I miss the kids yelling my name (that they still can’t quite pronounce). I will miss the games, the wrestling, the hugs, the smiles, the Swahili, the kikuyu, the prayers, the love, the selflessness, the joy, the soccer matches, the porridge time, the fellowship, the life, and God’s light shining through each moment. I couldn’t hold back the tears yesterday morning when we left and walked to each classroom to say goodbye. I got so choked up that I could barely talk, because I knew the floodgates would open. Each kid and adult, asked “Why do you leave?”, “You stay here,” “When will you come back?”. One of the kids Karanja gave me a letter, thanking me for being a brother in Christ and for spending time and loving on everyone there. It made me cry hard. But, I also knew that it wasn’t so much of a goodbye that I was saying, but more of a “see you soon”. I will visit again, hopefully several times, before I leave. But for now, I will leave you with a verse that Karanja wrote in my letter:
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me’.” (Matthew 25:40)
I hope I have been this to these kids, because they have surely blessed me and loved me more than I could have ever expected.
