But, for those girls who do not have relatives that could make it due to distance or transportation costs, it can be a different experience. Now, most Kenyans will gladly take in a child that is not their own either permanently, in serious cases, or temporarily, like a visitors weekend. A lot of the girls end up spending the day with one of their friend's families who has chosen to treat them as one of their own. The other girls, however, will have to find something to do the whole day when there are no scheduled activities.
That's where Christine and I came in.
We had had bible study that saturday morning with the girls like we always do, but we could hardly keep most of their attention because like I said, the franctic anticipation of visitors coming had begun. After bible study, we went down to the classrooms where Christine usually supervises their computer time. Once the visitors started arriving, we started to weed out the girls who did not have anyone coming for them.
Before you knew it, Christine and I had the bright idea dawn on us to have a girls day with the "orphans" as we called them. (They aren't really orphans but Christine and I adopted them for the day) We ran home and grabbed some lunch before heading out with all our nail polishes and Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Frozen, the movies. We were gonna be the big sisters.
Once we got back to the school we found some girls in the dining hall watching television and looking pretty bored. NO visitors. Luckily, Christine and Jordan were at their disposal!
More girls started trickling as the day went on and we all found ourselves doing what girls do best, pamper! There was hair braiding, toenail painting, and watching movies with female protagonists who were the heroes! It was so fun to spend that quality time with them just being friends and enjoying each other's company instead of them only seeing us in a mentor or teacher setting.
Once we had finished both movies it was time for their dinner and us to leave to go make ours. The thanks and smiles we got for spending the day with them was the perfect ending to that day and I look forward to spending more quality time with them this next term.
It was such a small idea to do that for those girls without visitors that day and Christine and I could have easily just gone home and spent the rest of the day relaxing or whatever. But, thankfully the Lord gave us this idea and nudged us in the right direction so that even after I leave this lovely place, I will have those smiles burned into my memory.
It's amazing what a small act of kindness and love can mean to someone. It didn't cost us anything (except maybe a bottle of nail polish remover) to spend the day with those girls and show them someone is thinking of them. How many times a day do I, you, we pass by someone who may need some encouragement or simple act of kindness? We don't know because we don't take the time to get to know.We are in a hurry or it's awkward or we just don't feel like it that day. I know I could be a lot more intentional with the people I come in contact with on a daily basis.
I pray that we would not miss out on these opportunities to show Christ's love to someone no matter what the circumstance. It doesn't cost us anything to give a kind word, hug, or verse of Scripture. I want these girls to be so affected and changed by Christ that these thoughts, actions, and words come naturally to them. I want to start with myself. I want to display this example of Christ's love to them so that when they leave Uhuru Academy, it would be second nature to them. I want them to treat people and care for them as Christ has done for them.
I only have 7 months left in Kenya and as the time for me to leave is quickly approaching, I pray I do not become apathetic. I pray that by pressing on to know Christ better and show Him to them through myself, that I would carry that back to the US with me. I don't want to just be intentional with people because i may never get to see them again, I want to live my life intentionally for the sake of knowing Christ and proclaiming Him no matter where I am or what timeline I have.
As I close I would like to bring to mind this verse that Paul writes after he says he considers everything garbage in relation to knowing Christ in a fuller and deeper way. This passage reveals to me the heart behind why we would strive to know Christ more and share Him with those around us.
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
[Philippians 3:7,10-12]
