Kenyan Recess

Recess in Kenya is something that baffles me.
 Picture this: the kids run out of the classroom like they haven’t seen daylight in weeks and roll around on the grass like there is no better playground in the entire world. They climb trees and play games that involve 15 kid pile ups and jump around on old tires and they laugh and laugh and laugh. Sometimes they form circles and dance around and sometimes they push and shove and fight with each other like they are in boxing rings. And it’s all 100% acceptable play.

Can I tell you about a game that they play? Maybe it will blow your mind the way it blew mine. All of the kids line up in this long line and then three walk behind them. The three takes turns with different jobs-one will cover the person's eyes, one will pinch their neck, and one will slap them on the back. And the the child who has their back turned must guess who it was that pinched them and who it was that hit them. And that is a GAME. Please picture my face the first time that I saw this being played. (I can guarantee you that the only way to describe it would be SHOCK.) 
If I ever were to forget how different life is here, if I were to ever fail to see the differences between teaching here and teaching in the US, recess with always be a reminder. 

Another Piece of my Heart

Every morning she runs into my arms as I step through the gate of the preschool. This has become routine for us. My heart lights up to see her beautiful face and as she wraps her arms around my neck and tucks her tiny face close next to mine, nothing has ever felt more like home. She is small, but her smile could light up an entire room. She loves to knock her forehead right against mine and stare into my eyes, always knowing that it will fill me with laughter. Her sweet face masks a story that you would never know.

She comes from a home where sickness has won too often. Her father is passed and her mom HIV+. The kindness of a neighbor has allowed her to come to school. She wears old handed down uniforms and her chance of a continuing education is not promised beyond two years of free preschool. And still, she smiles and laughs and plays and loves like the world has dealt her a better hand. She is the definition of joy and even the sun seeks to light up her face.

 This week, my little Edith has been more of a teacher to me than I have been to her. She has taught me that a smile is not dependant on circumstances, but on faith. She sings of the Lord and how she will praise His name, and while I know that she might not grasp the entirety of what that means, she chooses to sing with a smile instead of to sit in sadness. Her face reminds me every morning of the promise of joy and love and peace that we can get only from God. Her smile is contagious to such an extreme degree and already she has captured my heart completely.

My heart has been broken this week as I’ve learned how many kids are like my Edith. How many come to this school until they are too old to stay, only to find that this is the only education they might ever get. So many little ones will leave this school at 7 or 8 and not sit for interviews to go to new schools because the fees are too high for their parents to afford. My heart breaks to know that these children will have only a preschool education to fall back on. As a teacher, my heart breaks to know that there are so many who never stand a chance at going to school because the cost is too high. As a believer in a Lord who loves and seeks every child, my heart breaks to know that there are so many who will fall away from faith as they fall away from school.

My heart is heavy and light at the same time, and it’s hard to find the balance. My prayer is for each of these whom I love to have a chance. My prayer is for parents who faithfully step out and take chances on these kids who are the future generations of this country. I will hug them until my arms turn blue and laugh with them until my voice is hoarse and love them with all the love that the Lord gives me, and I will never ever stop hoping for a better future for each of these who hold a piece of my heart.

Transitions

Walking in through the small door in the wooden gate, I am immediately overwhelmed by the joy of the Lord that I can see on dozens of adorable faces. They knew that I would be there, but still so many stare at me in awe as they take in the sight of their new teacher. One girl runs up and immediately leaps into my arms. Still others run to me as they pull on my arms and ask “How are you?” a million times, even after I’ve answered. (This is a sentence that I hear at least 75 times a day because it is a staple English sentence for all Kenyan kids) Still, others stand back, more apprehensive of me because I look and sound different than they do. I take in every face that I will be seeing for the days of the upcoming months and relish in knowing that these precious little ones will be such a part of my heart. Finally, I am stepping into the role that I heard God speak into my heart so long ago.

This week I have become the teacher of a Kenyan preschool class. I have laughed and cried and gotten frustrated and been encouraged and felt every single emotion you can imagine. Coming into this I thought I would be hanging out, helping Rose in the class and observing for a bit until I learn more Swahili--I could not have been more wrong.

In reality I have spent the majority of my time this week as the sole teacher in a classroom of 32 rambunctious Kenyan kids who speak very little English. They stare at me as I try to communicate with my small Swahili vocabulary and they laugh at me when I try to show them that I mean serious business. On Wednesday I was alone in the classroom for four hours and left the school thinking that I didn’t know if I could go back. Because it was HARD. Sure, recess is fun and during break time they sit in my lap and chase me around and hang on my arms so much that I am sure I will leave here with no arm hair, but when I walk into the classroom and become their teacher, the word respect holds no meaning.

They would get loud and run around and me saying the words “SIT DOWN” and “PLEASE BE QUIET” would have zero impact (even when I tried these phrases in Swahili, the kids would laugh). All of the student teaching in the world could not have prepared me for this.

And then I remembered that I was here because God called me to be. And I realized that I’d been relying on my educational training and not my spiritual training. And so I said a prayer for patience, took a deep breathe, decided not to give up, and kept trying new approaches, hoping one would work out.

This morning most of the students were in the classroom when I arrived at the school. They were all talking and playing and running around and I thought “Oh yeah, it’s Friday, kids are always out of control on Fridays.” So I lowered my expectations and stepped into the classroom.

Everyone sat down, everyone got silent, and 32 pairs of little eyes stared at me expectantly. I could have cried in that moment. But instead I smiled and thanked Jesus for His faithfulness and looked at my beautiful class and greeted them good morning and accepted all their hugs as I made my way to the front of the classroom and braced myself for another day of life in preschool land. 

Kenya: Week One (almost)

I'm feeling as if I can say I've been in Kenya for a week, because in reality it feels as if I have been in Kenya for a month! Time moves so differently here and I think I had forgotten that an American minute is a Kenyan hour (or day sometimes). 

It's been so fun being back in Kenya and remembering all the reasons why I'm in love with this place and the people here. Even now it is raining outside and there is nothing the world that sounds the same as Kenyan rain (i.e. rain accompanied by an occasional mooing cow or squawking chicken, ect.). I've loved getting to reunite with so many pieces of my heart, but i will admit that I've been missing the pieces that stayed at home in Georgia. I think the miss has been bigger this trip because I know that it will be longer before I will be home again. Still, I am so happy to be here and I am excited for what God has planned for me!!

Tomorrow will be my first day at the preschool and I truly can't wait to meet all my new little ones!!! I'm terrified of not knowing enough Swahili to have long conversations with them, but I know that I'll learn from them even as they learn English from me! I can't wait to get to write all about them later!! :) 

Kenya bound!!!

Tomorrow I leave for four months of KENYA! I can't believe that the day is already here- I have been dreaming about this for YEARS. There are so many sweet faces that I can't wait to see again and I am so excited for the time that God has prepared for me. So many of you who will read this have heard so much of my journey with Kenya and I am so thankful for such an outpouring of love and support throughout the planning and molding of this trip. I can't wait to be back in Kenya where so many pieces of my heart are!! 
(Now I just have to finish getting packed up!)