We didn't really know what to expect. We hadn’t advertised the event at all, but Pastor didn’t seem worried. When we asked him about it, he just smiled and said, “Don’t worry, they will come.”
It was 9 am on Saturday. Alyssa, Vivian and I stocked up on bubbles, balloons and nail polish at the local grocery store and then headed to Ngei Primary School with Pastor Joseph. The three of us waited in the car as Pastor got out to inspect the area. It didn’t take long before three young boys spotted us and ran over to greet the “muzungus” (“white person” in Swahili). After a few minutes Pastor walked over, bent down to speak to the boys, rattled off some Swahili and finished with two magic words: “BOUNCY CASTLE.” The words barely left his lips before the boys took off, down the road, to the slums where they live. No doubt they were going to spread the word that there were muzungus with a bouncy castle in front of the school.
Our worries that no one would show up soon turned into worries of “holy cow, we do not have enough balloons for this” when over 100 kids flooded the school parking lot. We spent the day being human jungle gyms, face painters, manicurists, human air pumps and Bouncy Castle attendants. I think my whole team would agree that it has been one of our favorite days in Kenya so far.
New motto: If you have a bouncy castle, they will come.
