Send Me, I'll Go...

me and mama Virginia

I was anxious about seeing the real Africa and couldn’t wait get to work! We finally arrived to Nairobi, capital of Kenya, where we spent our first night. In the morning, while waiting for our bus to arrive I met a woman, whose name was mama Virginia. She shared her life story with me and oh boy was I touched by it! Mama Virginia was a single mother who hoped that one day her children would attend college. I learned that it was not unusual for her to walk 2 hours one way to work. In fact, she didn’t have a steady job and often relied on small tasks that would pay enough to feed her family. She wasn’t sure what kind of task she was going to perform tomorrow, but she was certain that God would provide. Faith and love for God were evident in mama Virginia’s life, which made me wonder how I would act and react in her situation. I was compelled to pray and as I held this woman’s hard working hands tears began to run down my chicks. I was ready to pray, but was lost for words. Imagining what she has to deal with everyday was not comprehendible to me, making me unsure how I should pray for her. I love what God’s Word says in Romans 8:28 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” After the prayer time we hugged and said our goodbyes since it was time for us to leave for Owasso village.

The ride to Owasso was bumpy and scary at times. Infrastructure is not the best on the outskirts of Kenya but what made the ride frightening was that none of the drivers obey road signs. If they do not want to stop at the stop sign they keep on going beeping at each other letting each other know that they are moving. Because we were all so excited to reach our final destination we tried to ignore the crazy ride. And finally we arrived to Owasso where we were greeted by a group of women with children. We dropped off our bags and began to interact with children.

It was difficult to interact at first, since the language was a barrier. However we quickly learned that we can point at objects and draw pictures in the sand to communicate with one another. I quickly bonded with a little girl Lillian. She was 9 years old, spoke very little English and loved to play games. During the next 10 days, Lillian captured my heart in the way that I have never imagined.

To be continued…