The Smiles

There is a first and a last for everything I suppose. This morning was my last three hour long African church service. As many times as I looked at my watch during the service, there’s this vibration and radiance of the building and praise I will definitely miss. Everything about those church services feels African. Today, I even wore my new African top. The service ended and Karen and I headed to her cell group meeting. Some of the members remembered me from my last visit; I was introduced to some others.

For lunch, Karen took me to a local chicken and fry place. I ordered the normal—fries and tomato sauce. We sat there for a while, talking and reminiscing on the time I spent in Kenya before she dropped me at icipe. When I got up to head to the car, I realized a young boy was standing behind me begging for change. I am unsure how long he was standing there. Wherever I go, there are constant reminders.

I waited for David to pick me up as we had planned on going to the Children’s Home this afternoon. David is typically good at keeping time, so when he didn’t arrive when he said he was going to I gave him a call. It seemed that he was having car trouble and did not come for over an hour. This time was good, however, as I needed to reevaluate my packing situation. David and Alex picked me up and we headed to Naivas to buy some sweets and biscuits for the children. We also bought bags of popcorn on our way out.

Same as my last experience, the children ran to the vehicle as soon as we pulled in. We got out shaking their hands. This time I actually knew how to greet them in Swahili. I think some of the youngest ones figured I understood Swahili because they continued to talk to me the rest of the afternoon, even though I had no clue what they were saying. We sat with the kids watching television for a while until we rallied them up to head to a local field. The group walked through unpaved pathways with sharp rocks. Most of the young children didn’t have shoes on their feet, unfazed by the gagged edges. In the field we found the kids using an old tire as a trampoline, jumping off and flipping. Some of the children were very talented and could flip over extremely high heights. I took out my camera, trying to snap as many pictures as possible. The children love having their pictures taken. I allowed the same girl who took pictures last time to take some more. She was so excited to be in charge and snapping shots. With the setting sun, we headed back to the house to serve the sweets we brought. David passed around sweets, playing a game with who could guess how many sweets were left. I handed out the packages of biscuits and juice was poured. The children played around, scarfing down their food. A young girl, maybe four, named Moxilla impressed me with her intelligence. She was saving all of her treats for later, making them last as long as possible. As I passed out the popcorn, she asked if she could have hers in the bag, realizing that way she would get more as her hands weren’t as large as the other children’s. Growing up under the circumstances the children do, most would expect them to not be as bright as they are. However, their intelligence is remarkable. We said our goodbyes and headed out. As I waved and took one last look at the children while pulling away, it was hard not to notice their smiles. Every single one of the children had smiles plastered on their faces. These children laugh and play as if they have everything they ever could have wanted—they don’t know any better. Knowing I fly home tomorrow, when I leave, the smiles of the children will remain with me far past my stay in Kenya. Their happiness is truly indescribable.