Up early…breakfast…packed our supplies in the van and made our way to Gitathuru for our first day of Vacation Bible School. As we drove up the bumpy and dusty road the children of the community follow next to the van waving and calling “how are you?”…the Kenyan phrase of greeting to visitors. After packing our supplies the small distance down the hill to the school building we were invited into a classroom for chai and mandazi (fried bread).
Not much happens in this culture without what I call “chai and chat”. You must spend a few minutes visiting about the previous day and what may happen today before moving on to any discussion of the matters at hand. So thirty minutes after arriving we finally unpack our supplies and begin preparing for the morning.
The teachers were provided sticky name tags to put on each student. I spotted my little Elly coming down the hall from his classroom. It was all I could do to keep from hugging him and introducing myself. Most everyone else felt the same way, we can hardly wait until Thursday morning when we get to spend time with “our kids”. Most of them are not yet English speakers so the teachers will help translate and we’ll have a chance to take pictures and share our gifts. Not much compares to actually being able to meet your child and know that you have a part in giving them a brighter future.
Vacation Bible school went even better than we had hoped. Thank you all for your prayers for us and for the kids…I know it made a difference. The kids were so excited about every single thing…the story time, crafts, music, games and of course snacks. Our theme this week is “God can do Great Things “ and our stories each day are about the life of King David. Today we taught them “Only a Boy Named David” and “I’m in the Lord’s Army”. I’m attaching some pictures of the kids during music time with their cardboard crowns and during story time with Merlin.
This entry is short…I’m tired and the rooster starts in really early each morning. By the way, the dogs have disappeared. We mentioned to Mary (missionary where we are staying) on Saturday that the dogs were keeping us awake. The dogs belong to Wallace (Mary’s husband) and he loves dogs. She hates the dogs…I believe her exact words were “those stupid dogs”. I have a feeling she demanded that Wallace have them moved at least while we’re here. She did tell me that they had more dogs but one got sick and when the vet came to put the sick dog down he killed the wrong one. Wallace was really upset and still had to pay to get the sick dog put down…only in Kenya!
We send our love and thank you for your prayers.
Blessings,
Elizabeth
No comments:
Post a Comment