This is actually from back in Kenya. Sorry I got so far behind.
Our team was doing a drama on Sunday at church so we went on Saturday to practice it at the church. It was a warm day. I was not in the drama but had come so I could go into town to do some shopping for our team. So when we arrived at the church I was just hanging out while they were practicing. I stepped outside to find a crowd of kids that I had played with the day before while they were in school, but today there was not school so they were in plain clothes and could leave the school yard. So we started playing games, I tried to keep them in the school yard, partially because I didn’t want to have to run any farther than the yard, partially because I knew I needed to stay close to my teammates so I could be ready to go when they got ready. The kids were so insistent on leaving the yard. They kept running out into the road so I would chase them out there. Ok, so they may be smarter than me, because they got me out there.
We ran up and down the street, the kids hid behind fences and chased me back. It was a great time (by the way playing the street- not even a big deal here, there are not enough cars to be a threat and even if there were, they couldn’t drive fast enough to be a threat because of the condition of the roads). As we ran by mamas standing by the road, I would stop and try to chat (somewhat for a break from the running, somewhat so I could get to know some women in the community). Some of them spoke english, some didn’t. Some just laughed at the silly muzungu who was running around like a crazy person with their children. I ended up chasing one group of kids to the end of the block (really about 40 yards) where I found Zipporah standing outside of her compound laughing at me.
Zipporah is a 14 year old girl. She started high school in February. As we talked for a little while I learned that her dad had died when she was quite young, her mom has cancer and she suffers under the weight of loneliness most days.
She told me about her dream to study law in America and come back to Kenya and be a leader in this nation so dictated by corruption but hungry for honesty. She told me about what would have to happen for her to do that. Her studies for the next 6 years would have to be impeccable, she would not be able to be distracted by anything of the world. I was amazed by her drive, by her desire to make something great even though things looked so bleak for her future.
To Be Continued…
