It’s Friday afternoon, and everyone is finished with lunch and back at school. Everyone except for my teammate Meagan and I. Typical. Lunchtime is a scramble; it’s the only time of day we have access to Wi-Fi, and in that half an hour we all want to contact our family and friends and possibly squeeze in facetime before heading back to school. Trying to settle my call to jury duty, I send my last message and tell her I’m ready to go. We grab our bags, but as we turn to leave, we’re greeted with a cheery “Hello.”
The student introduces himself saying he was in the music class my team and I visited earlier that morning. Before long, we’re listening to his storyand learning his signature dance moves. He dreams of being a teacher, and wants to go back to his village and open a school. An hour and a half passes by, and it is time for him to go to work. Walking towards the door, he buys banana-q (a caramelized banana treat) for us and we make plans to meet his friends next week for lunch at Chong’s. Meagan and I smile, and we walk into the school’s common area. Divine appointment number one complete.
We avoid everyone because we don’t want to share our bananas. After looking at some of the tables, we notice a girl sitting alone and try to strike up a conversation. All we can get out of her is that she is waiting for a friend to work on a school project and that her name is Jenna. It’s like pulling teeth. When her friends arrives, the small talk falls flat. Before getting up to leave, Meagan asks the girls if there is anything they need prayer for. Immediately, tears roll down Jenna’s cheek, and as she begins to opens up. A year ago, her dad was in a severe moto accident and now can no longer hear. One eardrum exploded and the other stopped working. She expresses the pain in not being able to communicate with her father and the financial burden it is to her family. She has a dream of becoming an engineer but doesn’t know if her family can afford to send her to school. The second girl is too shy to speak loudly, but under her breath whispers a short sentence about the father who left when she was seven. Before tears can fall, she makes a joke, laughs, and reminds us she is too shy to speak.
Life for these girls is real. It’s heartbreaking. Jenna prays every day, her friend does not, and both are hoping and searching for a place in this world. Meagan and I pray for the girls, and before leaving tell them they are beautiful in God’s eyes. Their crying makes them strong, and Jesus sees them. Another divine appointment is finished.
At this point, Meagan and I walk and are pulled in two different directions. Another teammate calls me over because the group she is talking to wants to meet the girl with “the hair”. After two a few hours of deep conversation, light hearted banter and chitchat fills the rest of my day. When we leave STI, my teammates and I have new friends and plans to meet up next week with different students.
It is a good day for the Kingdom. We met God on campus and He showed us what needed to be done. A future teacher, two searching students, and a group of friends all a part of His plan, and today, I was invited into it! I guess taking too long at lunch wasn’t too bad after all!
