We are finally home and I think we are mostly over jet lag. Sorry my posts were short and sporadic. There was not a lot of time to sit with a computer and write my thoughts. There is so much processing going on in my head. We were not in Kenya as tourists, so we were able to see much of the real life of the people who we met. It makes you think alot. We may tell ourselves or our children to appreciate what we have, but until you are really confronted face to face with what people don't have, you really don't get it. Last night my kids went to bed in bedrooms bigger than most peoples houses in the slums. They slept in a bed by themselves, not with all their siblings. They also ate yesterday, and had cookies for dessert, so when they went to bed, they did not think about how their stomach hurt. This morning they ate again and their brains will not be foggy as they go to school.
The amazing thing about that is that in Kenya, they also did not complain if they got food, even if they didn't like it. They were really too hungry to care. They did not pick and choose what would go in their lunch. They will eat whatever they are fed at school, if they are privileged enough to go to school.
At school during recess, they will not go to the ball box and choose a ball to play with, or go to the swing set, or the monkey bars. They have none of those things. They will laugh and play and be happy though. They will sing and play tag and make up other games. They are content. It is not that they don't dream of doing other things, becoming Dr.'s and teachers and graphic designers. They work very hard in school and they are incredibly resourceful. Please pray for those children today. Pray they will see their true value in the Lord. Pray they will grow in their faith. Pray for the Mathare Worship Center in the slum that provides a school for some. Pray for the parents who are trying to find ways to make money, that they would choose good things to do to support their families. The list could go on, but just pray, and while you are at it, thank God for what you have. It is a gift from Him who made you.