Full day in Tala!

Our first full day here! We were up at 6:30am to get ready for breakfast, which consisted of bread and cereal. After breakfast we had tea again, I’m really falling in love with this tea! Then I was off to the market with Pauline to pick up a few items for lunch and dinner. This market reminded me of the little market I visited in Rome. Very small, various items for sale including bagged rocks (the bag actually said Fried Rocks)! I asked Pauline what they were and she said rocks! “What are they used for?” I asked. Pauline said people, especially pregnant women, would eat them! Don’t ask me how or why, but that’s what she said! She also said they sometimes sell dirt in a bag for people who like to eat soil! Now there’s a custom I don’t think I’d even like to try! Then we went to the open market, although many of the stalls weren’t open yet we were still able to get some Mangos, potatoes, garlic, wheat flour and squash. Pauline has a young boy who knows her car and when she pulls up he will begin putting things in a bag for her. He knows that if he tries to give her some bad produce, she’ll complain and not return. So he was very nice and even took her car keys and put the stuff in the trunk! I haven’t seen that type of personal service in a very long time!
Then it was off to the school. The roads here are horrible! And it was a very bumpy ride all the way to school. No wonder the vehicles need to be sturdy! I think our cars back home would fall apart on these roads! We pulled into the school and saw all the children in the school yard and they looked so precious! I couldn’t wait to see them up close and talk with them and the teachers. But Pauline and Gideon showed us around the school for a bit first then we were finally able to see all the children together! They sang us a song and were so polite that I wanted to hug them all right then! Then Ruth; she stays at the Academy with the children at night, along with Kathryn (the head mistress) and another male teacher took us on a tour of the classrooms and told us a bit about some of the children. Here is Nthenge Nzioka who came to the Academy with horrible jiggers on his hands and feet. They were so bad that he was crippled in his walking, but Ruth vowed to take care of him and clean his feet and hands and remove all the jiggers. You can see that he still has the scars, but is walking and is a happy boy now! Praise God for His help for Nthenge and for bringing Ruth to the school. She loves the Lord and told us “I am not here to be paid but to give glory to God.” Ruth had the opportunity to go to another school and make much more money, but she felt called by God to work with these children and chooses to stay with them. She even uses what she earns for personal items for the children, like ink pens when they run out, or a bar of soap when they can’t afford the 10 schillings for one. She and I are going to sit down and make a list of such items that we can raise in the States and bring back or send to them to use. Kathryn does the same with her earnings and you can tell by talking with these two ladies how very much they love God and are here to serve Him. I was humbled by these two, even with what little they have they are willing and happy to give to the children what they need. But what they are truly giving these children is love and acceptance. The children are being shown that God loves them through the actions of these two beautiful women. They were also very thankful for all the help that Saved By God’s Grace has given them and I pass their thanks onto you!
Here is our lunch the first day. It was very delicious, beans, maize (called Muthokoi) and cabbage. Chuck’s getting his protein in the beans not so much meat. After our tour Ruth had the children line up by class so that I could give each child a piece of candy! Some of them were very shy, some were bold and waited for two pieces (only one per child!), and one girl about 10 years old said “thank you very much, I appreciate it very much, thank you!” These children have nothing and were so appreciative of one small piece of candy it brought tears to my eyes. God you are a perfect teacher and thank you for using these small children to open my eyes to who your children are around the world, that I can experience this first hand.
Just before we left the school around 4pm the children who stay at the school were washing their clothes. Many of them don’t have any other clothes, so they must wash them after school so they will be dry by morning. Ruth told us many of the children also don’t have pajamas so they sleep in their uniform. How many times do we sleep in old t-shirts? These children would love to have a t-shirt to wear around after school or for pajamas instead of their daily school uniform. These are the things that we don’t even consider in the States, but are a reality for these children. I hope that this blog is bringing awareness to the needs of these children.
And by the way, our two boxes showed up at British Airways! Thank you Lord for bringing them back to us, because they were more of the bibles! We were joking about it last night because the person who gave Chuck the number to call to see if they showed up gave us a phone number that was one number short! So we couldn’t get a hold of them. But Gideon said that if they took the boxes and looked inside maybe they would feel guilty because they would find the bibles! I don’t know if that’s what happened but the bibles were returned! We also said that if they didn’t show up then they must need the Word more than the children did! They have a great outlook on everything. Even in prayers before tea (and that is one tradition I want to continue at home) they thank God for His providence and pray that those without would also be filled with the same joy we have. They have no material things here, the homes are very meager yet they are the happiest people I have ever met! They are so thankful for what God has provided for them and they trust that God will continue to provide for them. Kathryn told us that she believes that Jesus sends someone to be obedient to help them at the school. We could all learn a lesson in humility from these precious children of God!