heart officially cracked. The sweetest
part though is recognizing what helped bring it back together, like redemption and hope..pure and simple. Seeing
the directors, teachers and security guards passion as they loved the kids as
their own, even if it means sacrificing time with their own families to do so. Reading a note from one of the 14 year old
boys, Isaac, saying I reminded him of his mother that passed away…he wanted to
know if I would be his mom, and asked if I would think of him as my son. Bringing Kenny off the street…need I say more?
when I try to understand it all.
place each day on the farm, like playing with a bouncy ball outside as if it were
the best game ever invented or sitting side by side on the bench looking out at
an open soccer field talking about life and sharing stories. I smile each time I look at the stack of
notes in my drawer that the kids wrote us all constantly during those last
couple of days before heading home. Exchanging
friendship bracelets and necklaces was another thing that I cherished so very
much… Oh, how I loved living life
together not as strangers but as family after only just meeting.
The fact is that there’s also a weight that comes after
being immersed in what seems like such a far off reality. In my opinion, acknowledging this reality
brings a sense of responsibility as well as options…or put another way,
opportunity…we’ll call it optionunity. Optionunity 1 – Feel bad/leave it up to
someone else to do something/move on to more important matters… (seems kinda
silly written out, doesn’t it?) Optionunity 2 – Take heart to what
Jesus said when he commanded us to care for the widows and orphans and actually
do something. Trust. Have faith. Push past the
fear and move. He’s got the rest
covered.
Optionunity 2 allows fear to enter in pretty easily. Fear of not being ______ enough. Fear of
provision. Fear of failing. Fear of … the list could go on and on. But it doesn’t have to. When we let these fears take over, we’re
living out of our own capabilities instead of trusting in God. I’ve learned that faith is so easy to have
until the point comes of actually having to rely on it. Funny how that works…
The kids touched me deeper than I could have ever
expected. But really, what’s compassion if it doesn’t lead to action?
A wise woman, marisa :), shared some advice with me in the midst of my
breakdown…
Isaac Juma, Sarah, Purity….more than I could possibly comprehend. He placed me
there for a reason, and now I wait patiently (another fun game) to see how that
will unravel moving forward…
We had an amazing team to say the least. Everyone was
excited, passionate and ready to make the most of our time! It was so great! (not pictured, but oh so loved 🙂 – Michael and Kathy Hindes)
got connected with the Challenge Farm. They see Allan as their own and
have been visiting him in Kenya every year since.
